A Chance At Love
by SupahStarmon
Summary: It's the second year of high school for Kumiko. However, she still longs for the love of her life, Asuka. Will she get a chance now that Asuka is gone?
1. Self Reflection

A new year has started. But, I think I'm still stuck in the past.

I've watched so many of my friends grow closer. Maybe as friends, maybe as love.

Natsuki-senpai and Yuuko-senpai are doing great as the vice-president and president. They may argue a lot, but I think that's just their affections for each other played out differently. They for sure like each other.

Goto-senpai and Riko-senpai are still going out. And they are still a cute couple.

Mizore-senpai and Nozomi-senpai are still as close as ever. Mizore-senpai is really…clingy towards Nozomi-senpai. If they were dating, I wouldn't mind. The gender doesn't really matter as long as the two people love each other. I would be happy for them since they look happy.

Shuuichi is just…Shuuichi. He's still a good friend, but everyone keeps teasing me about how we should get together.

Like Hazuki-chan and Midori-chan. They are still two of my best friends and we still enjoy each other's company. Those two have also gotten closer, but not as much romantically but friendly.

Reina-chan…I still see her as my best friend. One I can share a lot of my feelings toward. One who I find beautiful and maybe had a crush on. But she still goes on about Taki-sensei. My feelings whenever I heard her talk about Taki-sensei…it was all sadness. I didn't have a chance with Reina, and I wish I had. Her feelings for him haven't changed, and I'll still be there to support her. That crush I had…I think it's changed. Maybe for the better.

My mind wanders to the third years…now graduated. Aoi-chan, Haruka-senpai, Kaori-senpai…

Asuka-senpai. The talented, teasing, beautiful euphonium player. The girl who I've been closest to other than the first-year girls. Someone I look up to. Someone who I inspire to be like. Someone I want to hear again. Her euphonium playing. Her sweet voice. I know.

I fell in love with Asuka-senpai.

It was when I poured out my feelings on graduation day. All the time we spent together built up this…feeling. It was love, and I was too afraid to truly say it. I do love Asuka-senpai as a friend. But, I longed for something more. And now…was it over? Could I ever get Asuka-chan as someone who I can call more than just a friend? We promised that it wasn't going to be goodbye, but…

"Kumiko-chan?" I hear my name called. I didn't realize my surroundings. It was familiar, we were on the train home. I look to my right, and of course Reina is there. "Your eyes are watery. Were you crying?"

"O-oh!" I didn't realize that my feelings that were in me started to form. I quickly wipe my eyes. Reina was not supposed to see me like this. In front of her, I am usually strong. "Y-yeah. My mind drifted, and I was remembering how the band was going to change."

I look to her. Her head was nodding. "I agree. That was really fun, despite everything that happened. It will not be the same without the graduates, but we must look forward. To aim for Nationals. To win gold."

I couldn't tell Reina what I was feeling. She wasn't really good with handling other people's problems, I knew that. So, burdening Reina with my thoughts wouldn't really help. I'm glad that Reina was encouraged to aim for nationals again. But…I couldn't help but ask.

"For Taki-sensei?"

She was blushing, but it seemed lighter than usual. "A bit. I want to keep my promise to Taki-sensei's wife. And I want to do it for me. I still want to be special. And I think that getting gold will help guide me."

Reina's words were inspiring. It reminds me of how I fell for this girl. I smile at her. "That's nice. I have that same feeling." She smiles back, and it looks beautiful. But the way I look at Reina right now, romantically, reminds me of Asuka-senpai.

I want to see Asuka-senpai's smile. And I want to be the cause of it.

Our conversation ends as we reach our stop. The walk to where the two of us part was quiet. Just the sounds of cars, views of houses. The normal walk that we take was just that, normal.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Kumiko-chan." Reina smiles and waves, and I return the favour.

"Bye-bye, Reina-chan!" I fake my smile, my happiness.

All I can think now is what I told Asuka-senpai. I'm lonely.

I start to walk towards home. And I'm wallowing in my despair. I don't have anyone to talk to while I walk, occasionally running into Shuuichi. At first, I enjoyed the silence. I could gather my thoughts and I sometimes take a detour to the river to enjoy the fresh air. Now, all I could think is how I want someone to be with me. A friend works, but I would much rather enjoy the company of a partner. Like Asuka-senp-

"Oooooumae-chan!" Was I dreaming? It wasn't possible. She was working hard for college. She wouldn't have time to come out here. Right?

I felt something fall on my shoulder and it stung a bit. I look to the shoulder where there was weight on it. And my emotions are surprised and happy.

"Oumae-chan!" Asuka-senpai says with a cute pout on her face. Damn, it is way too cute. "It's not polite to not greet your elders."

My response wasn't what I wanted to start with. "A-Asuka-senpai!" I couldn't do much at all. She was right here, her head so close to mine. My feelings were overwhelming me. But I had to keep my composure. "Hello, Asuka-senpai! I-I thought that you had moved. For college?"

She went around to face me, and I hoped that my blush wasn't too obvious. I doubt it. "Well, the college that I aimed for luckily was on the same bus as you go on for school. I saw you in the morning, but I didn't want to interrupt you."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Asuka-senpai was still here, and I could still talk to her? I tried to remember this morning, now having the desire to talk to her. But I couldn't recall seeing someone like her. What was I doing to miss her? How could I have missed her? The person that I wanted to be with the most, and I missed her.

"R-really? So…we could talk in the morning?" I tried to hide my hope, but I don't think I held it in very well.

"Of course! I love talking to my old friends, especially-" she brings a finger to my nose and boops it. "-you, Oumae-chan."

My blush deepens at hearing this. Now whenever she touches me, I only have my thoughts filled with desires of Asuka-senpai touching me. But, something was biting at my curiosity.

"Asuka-senpai, didn't you see Reina-chan as well? Didn't you want to talk to both of us?"

I was surprised. Asuka-senpai's face was red. Does that mean…? No, don't think like that. She's…too mature for someone like me.

"Well, I wanted to talk to my euphonium pal! I know how you are." Asuka-senpai had a small smile on her face.

I caused that smile. And…it was beautiful.

With a wide smile on my face, I put out a bold question. "W-would you like to come to my place? T-to t-talk?" I really didn't want to stutter, but it just came out like that.

"Ooo! I accept. I want to see how Oumae-chan is like outside of school."

I lost my breath. She's actually going to come over! But, I need to stay calm. It's just two friends reminiscing, talking about our lives. Nothing more. I hold out my hand and she places hers into it. Soft, smooth. Her hand feels nice in mine.

And we head to my house.

* * *

A/N: I just finished Hibike! Euphonium season 2. I can't believe how good the entire series was. One of the only animes/mangas that almost made me cry. I think I'm incapable of crying, but I can have some tears in my eyes. Mizore's episode where she and Nozomi made up had me almost crying.

Anyways, about the fic. I don't know if there will be a season 3 for Hibike! Euphonium, so I kinda want to put a romantic spin for Kumiko's second year. The talk she had with Asuka really made me ship those two, and brought some tears. It's also a first for me since I'm going first person for this one.

So if you enjoyed reading this, leave a review! I want to know how to improve and see if I'm lacking anything.

Thanks for Reading!

(I'll probably keep writing, but I'll upload them weekly. Hopefully.)


	2. Our Confessions

(I decided that I really don't like writing in the first-person. So, the rest of the chapters will be in third-person. It's what I'm comfortable with, so I stick to that)

Review Responses:

Panda2501: It's great that you liked it! I had the same feelings as well. Kumiko wouldn't wait for Reina forever, and I'm a huge fan of Asuka. So, bringing these two together made me happy. Hopefully you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Kumiko's mind was not in the right place at the moment.

"I'm home!" She did her usual greeting when she gets home.

"Didn't you say your parents aren't home?" Asuka asked Kumiko in a playful manner. This resulted in Kumiko developing a blush. "Silly Oumae-chan!"

' _It doesn't help that you're here, love of my life.'_ That was all that Kumiko could think about. Her and Asuka were alone in her house. A lot of images popped into her mind, a lot of them lewd. However, she didn't want to scare off Asuka. She decided that her feelings would be known. Ambushing her would probably not be the wisest idea.

"S-shut up!" That was all the words that Kumiko could muster up. If she said anything else, she might have spilled everything. "You can go to my room, relax in there. It's the first door on the left."

"So forward, Kumiko-chan! Is that how your dates go?"

Every time Kumiko said something, Asuka found a way to send it back. She found it irritating if it was anyone else. From Asuka, it was…endearing. But, annoying nonetheless.

She sighs. "Just…go to the room. I'll bring snacks…and stuff." She grumbled while Asuka had a look of content, knowing that she had the way to tease the brunette.

Asuka left Kumiko with her thoughts. That may be the worst thing that she could have done, since Kumiko's mind was all over the place. _'The way she teases me, god it hits me in all the right ways. I've missed this…It was so fun to be around her, and it was the one thing that made band fun. I know it. I'll tell her my feelings today.'_

…

It took a bit of time, but Kumiko finally prepared the snacks and drinks. Standards call for hot tea, however Kumiko wasn't feeling too encouraged to make it. So, she just got some tea from the fridge and poured it into glasses.

Her hands were full, so she couldn't really open her door. So she did the next best thing. Bang the door with her foot to call for Asuka. "Asuka-senpai!"

Shouting didn't hurt either.

It took a while for Asuka to respond. _'What the heck could…she be…doing?'_

The girl in front of her had Kumiko in shock. It was the first time that she noticed what Asuka was wearing. A green short-sleeve button shirt, and tight fitting jeans. Kumiko's mind went back to her lewd thoughts, and saw how well the clothing stuck to Asuka's nice curves. She loved Asuka for everything that wasn't her body, however one thing was for certain. Asuka was extremely hot, and helped Kumiko love her more.

However, what shocked her was the state of Asuka. Her shirt was unbuttoned just enough so Asuka's cleavage was being shown off. Kumiko wasn't one to ignore that. The way that Asuka looked, with her clothes wrinkled and her tired looking face, led her to believe that…

"Asuka-senpai…did you sleep in my bed?"

Asuka yawned and rubbed her eye. And she nodded. "Yeah, I had a long day of school. I felt a bit sleepy, so I took a small nap. Does that…" Asuka comes up to Kumiko and starts to poke her. "…bother you, Kumiko-chan?"

' _Does she know how she's making me feel right now? I want to drop all of this and pounce on her…Control it Kumiko. We're here to tell Asuka our feelings, not to fulfill our fantasies.'_

"It does a bit. You don't go and sleep in someone's bed unannounced!" Kumiko did keep her cool and held the tray. She shook her head, while Asuka had an amused smile. She placed the tray on her table housing the cactus, and Asuka took her seat. Kumiko went to sit on her bed as she was holding her drink-

' _Oh, god damnit.'_

Taking a seat on her bed was a mistake. Was she stupid? Asuka just told her that she slept on the bed. So of course, the scent of Asuka was wafting around her. It was intoxicating, a mix of a sweet perfume and…Asuka.

She also had a perfect view of Asuka in all her glory. Asuka's position had her on the floor and leaning a bit to reach for the food. It gave Kumiko a perfect view of Asuka's…

' _Why does she tease me like this.'_ Kumiko was being assaulted on almost all her senses. Sight of Asuka, the smell of Asuka, hearing Asuka talk. All she was missing was the feel and taste, and that was better off if this relationship actually took off.

"So, Kumiko-chan. What's new?" Asuka had a genuine curiosity in her voice.

And so, they talked for…well not a while. Only half an hour. It was only 3:30, so they had a lot of time to kill. _'Wait, there's no reason to kill time. I can tell-"_

"Asuka-senpai, what are you doing?" Kumiko saw Asuka digging into her bag.

"Well, we avoided one topic and I can help with that." With one hand, she pulls out the crystal ball. "Romance is in the air and I plan to help you with it, Kumiko-chan!"

Kumiko was taken by complete surprise. "What the- Asuka-senpai?! Why have you been holding that crystal ball around?"

The person in question does a hearty laugh. "I only had it prepared for today. I'm not crazy!"

' _Well, I'm one to doubt that.'_

"Well, that wasn't very nice, Kumiko-chan. I will punish you by looking into your relationships."

Kumiko was wondering why Asuka said that. _'Am I an idiot? I said my thoughts aloud again?'_ She buried her face into her hands. _'Well, it's not like she'll actually find-"_

Kumiko's thoughts were interrupted by Asuka. "Well, well. Looks like our Kumiko-chan is more curved than edgy."

' _Uh oh.'_

Asuka continued, "There are two girls here. Both have black hair. Interesting… Oh! One of them is turning around! Looks like…Kousaka-san?"

Kumiko was in shock. "I- um, I can- It's not-"

' _Does it really work? She actually guessed that I liked- no, I loved Reina? I guess it does.'_

"Oh. That's sad, she's walking away. I guess that she wasn't caught. Now this other girl…"

' _If Asuka-senpai was right about Reina…uh oh.'_

"I can see a bit! She's turning ar- Ow! What was that for, Kumiko-chan?!" Asuka groaned in pain. Before she could see who the girl was (obviously Asuka), Kumiko chopped her on the head.

' _But…she's right. There wasn't any reason for me to stop it. I want to tell her my feelings today. So…why am I delaying it? There's no point.'_

So, she came up with a hokey excuse. "W-well, I don't think people like others putting their noses into issues that they don't matter in." _'Hmm, that was better than I expected. I'm still lying, it is all about Asuka-senpai, but I delayed it.'_

' _Again, why am I doing that?'_

Asuka put the ball away and sat on Kumiko's bed. She patted a spot next to her, Asuka's eyes saying, 'take a seat.' Kumiko obliged and took a seat.

"You seem…conflicted. You should talk about it, don't bottle it up." Kumiko found comfort in Asuka's warm, blue eyes. _'Oh, what the hell. She already knows about Reina.'_

"Okay. I did…I did like Reina. No, I loved Reina." She didn't mean to start to cry, at least not this soon. However, her tears started pouring out. "I might have told you. We met in middle school. And over the time that I haven't seen her, she became even more…beautiful. Talented. Smart. We became so close, touched so much, talked a lot. I really felt that we were starting something. I really wanted to say it. 'I love you, Reina.' I wanted to hear her say that too. 'Kumiko-chan, I love you.' But…"

Asuka was feeling hurt, and it was Kumiko that was telling the story. She saw Kumiko, and she wasn't holding up. Her story was interrupted by the sobs that overtook her. Asuka sat a bit closer and started to rub circles on her back. She took Kumiko's hand and used her thumb to rub circles on the back of Kumiko's hand. "Shhh, it's okay. Let it out." Asuka knew when to be her goofball self and the caring self. Kumiko needed support, so she knew that she would give it to her.

It took a bit of time, but Kumiko seemed to calm down. "What was I talking about?"

Asuka had a small smile. "You were saying that you wanted to hear Kousaka-san say, 'I love you.'"

"Oh…right," Kumiko's voice still had the hint of sadness, but she seemed able to continue.

"For Reina-chan, it was all about Taki-sensei. Taki-sensei this, Taki-sensei that. It was…hurting to hear. It made me think…what chance do I have with her? She was so love-struck by Taki-sensei that my love for Reina seemed…pointless."

She sprawled her body onto her bed while avoiding Asuka. The smell of her distracts Kumiko, but she couldn't dwell on it for too long. She had to finish this sad story.

"So, I gave up on her. It was hard. She was always by my side. I probably still had lingering feelings for her. Hell, I probably still do. I was always there for Reina. Supported her for anything. Getting the solo, going for Taki-sensei, all of it. Why would I bother going after her? However, these feelings went away. I guess. After that person came and hooked me."

Kumiko didn't notice her eyes were watering again until she finished the story. She didn't really care. Reminding herself of her feelings for Reina…it brought back all the pain she felt while she had those feelings.

Asuka couldn't help but wipe a tear away. Kumiko must have felt devastated. Asuka must be lucky, she never really felt this pain. _'Well, maybe what I felt is like Kumiko-chan's.'_

"So, Kousaka-san was that special to you. But…you like someone else?"

"Yeah, Reina is still special to me. But…I'll never be able to _love_ her. Just love her as a friend." She realized Asuka's other question. _'Should I tell her? Is it the right time?'_

"Well, from what I saw…she had black hair. Was it someone from band? Or somewhere else?"

' _Of course she was from band. I never really knew too many people outside of it. Asuka-senpai, can you really not see?'_

Kumiko gave it some thought. _'I guess…now this is the best time?'_

She looked to her side and saw Asuka. A finger to her chin, taking a long time to picture who this person is. She liked being irritated by Asuka. But…she was getting annoyed. _'Just…SEE IT, ASUKA-SENPAI!'_

Kumiko took a chance.

She wrapped her arms around Asuka's waist, hearing a yelp from the college girl. She pulled Asuka down so that the two were lying in Kumiko's bed. She couldn't see Asuka's face, but it held a huge blush. Kumiko was holding onto Asuka's waist tightly. She felt the hands of the embraced girl pulling at her arms. But Kumiko wouldn't let go.

"Ku-mi-ko!" In between breaths, she was trying as hard as she could to be released from Kumiko's grasp. But she stopped struggling after hearing Kumiko's voice.

"That other girl you saw. It's you."

Asuka couldn't believe what she heard. _'I…I was the other girl?'_

Her thoughts quickly went away as she heard Kumiko talk.

"You probably remember. That day I "confessed" to you. I was hiding my feelings. That love was like one I had for my sister. But…it wasn't true. I knew that I loved you."

Asuka heard Kumiko's sobs and she wanted to turn around and return the embrace Kumiko had on her. But Kumiko's grip was too strong.

"All of the time we spent together. Playing in the band. The time we spent together, talking. You had this aura that made me feel…happy. You enticed me with your body."

Asuka blushed even harder at this confession. She's heard that she had a great body from other people. However, hearing this from someone Asuka loved…it was too much for her to handle.

"You have everything going for you, appearance-wise."

Kumiko hoped that she wasn't going to push too hard.

She reached under Asuka's shirt and started touching her back. She leaned her head in and whispered into Asuka's ear. "Your smooth, silky skin."

Asuka couldn't believe it. She liked how she was feeling, but she was getting turned on by her crush. She really wanted to be the one to do it.

Kumiko didn't hear anything or feel any resistance from the black-haired beauty. So she kept going with her compliment assault.

She put a hand on one of Asuka's breasts. She heard a loud moan, which hopefully signified something good. "I'm extremely jealous of these."

Asuka was losing her mind. She had no urgency to pull Kumiko away, now that one of her hands were on one of her boobs.

The other hand traveled up to Asuka's vision. A finger pointed at her. "Your face is beautiful. Seeing a smile from you lights up my world. Also…" Asuka felt Kumiko's breath over her ear again. It was so sexy to hear Kumiko like this. "…those glasses look too good on you."

Kumiko's hands went around Asuka's waist again. "What really made me love you was the trust you put in me. You told me something that I know a few people know. You trusted me with that information, a lowly first-year. You let me hear that beautiful song that your dad gave you. It was beautiful, and it inspired me to play like you. I want to play for you. I've been practicing that song so I could play it for you. But then I remembered…"

Asuka heard a sniffle, and she wanted to comfort the girl.

"…I thought that you would be out of my life for good when you graduated. You said that it wasn't goodbye, but it sure felt like it. I cried on the train, thinking that I would never see you again and my feelings would never be known. I feel like…this was fate. Something like that, which led you to me."

Kumiko finally let all her feelings be known. She had nothing to hide anymore. All she hoped was that Asuka would understand. She didn't need to say anything. She didn't have to feel the same. All Kumiko wanted was her feelings to out there and be known by Asuka.

Asuka was…overwhelmed. All the feelings that Kumiko said, she felt the same.

So, Asuka did what she felt was necessary.

Kumiko's grip loosened, so she turned around. The feeling that Kumiko gave her. When she was being touched. Asuka's feeling…desire.

Asuka leaned in and gave Kumiko a kiss. She put all her passion and feeling into it. Kumiko was taken by surprise, but quickly reciprocated. Asuka made a move and pushed her tongue onto Kumiko's lips. It took a bit, but Kumiko opened her lips and surprised Asuka by quickly pushing her tongue in. Asuka moaned, but she wasn't going to let Kumiko take control.

She saw that some of Kumiko's body was exposed, so she took advantage. Her hands swiftly moved to Kumiko's stomach and up to her breasts. Asuka heard Kumiko moan, which brought a small smile to her face. This allowed her to be more forceful with the kiss, which also caused Kumiko to moan. Those sounds made Asuka want more of the brunette. However, she stopped herself.

She wanted to let Kumiko know her feelings.

They released the kiss and both were breathing heavily. However, they had huge smiles and dark blushes.

"Kumiko…if you couldn't tell…I'm in love with you too…" She took deep breaths in between, but Kumiko's smile widened, if it was possible.

"So…do I get to hear your story?" Kumiko's smile had a smug feeling, but it was genuine.

Asuka nodded. "Happily. Most of what you said was how I felt about you. I love your weird personality."

Kumiko laughed. "You're one to talk, Asuka-senpai."

Asuka laughed at that. "I was so happy to hear you say, 'I love you' at graduation. It felt genuine, but…nothing was done after that. I felt kind of stupid for not telling you anything, but I didn't want to risk anything. I was scared that I might not see you again. I gave you that book so you would always remember me. Sounds kind of selfish, huh?"

Kumiko smiled. "Yeah, it does." She giggled at Asuka's pout. "But, I know that I could never forget you. You were too important to me to ever forget."

Asuka's heart melted at hearing this. "I'm glad. I admired your drive to become great. It was a good look."

It was Kumiko's turn to blush. Asuka's praise caused her to be overwhelmed with emotions.

"It's my turn." Asuka's face had a smirk, and Kumiko was anticipating what she was going to do.

Asuka leaned in and started to kiss Kumiko's neck. Her moans wouldn't stop as Asuka attacked her neck with kisses.

"Your body is sexy too, Kumiko. Your small, but cute boobs. Your enticing eyes." She kept kissing Kumiko's neck. "Your beautiful tanned skin. It's all amazing."

Asuka's face became serious. "However, there was one thing that stopped me from going for you."

Kumiko was a bit scared. _'What could have stopped Asuka-senpai?'_

"Kousaka-san."

' _Oh…that…would make sense.'_ Kumiko's eyes watered, but not in happiness. She could barely get out her apology. "S-sorry, Asuka-senpai."

Now, Asuka felt like the guilty one. _'Why do you do this, Kumiko?'_ She brought Kumiko's head to her chest in an embrace. "Shhh, it's okay. Don't blame yourself. I fell in love with you when I first saw you, to be honest. After getting to know you better, I saw all of your charms and quirks. And it made me want to be with you even more. But, I saw how close you were with Kousaka-san. It was a bit obvious about how you felt about her. And…I felt jealous. I wanted to be the one that was by your side. I wanted you to be doing everything that you do to Kousaka-san to me. But, I wanted to be that good senior. One who helps their juniors in need. So, I didn't try anything. It was your decision to go for her, and I didn't want to interfere. I guess I was a bad senior in that regard." Asuka couldn't stop her tears, and Kumiko felt them falling close to her.

Kumiko took her head out of Asuka's chest. She put her hands on each of Asuka's cheeks and stared directly at her. "You were the best senior. I always loved you for trying to be helpful. It didn't work out with Reina, but you're the one I won't let get away."

Asuka's cheeks were getting pushed, so her speech was a bit muddled. "Ku-mi-ko…"

She laughed at Asuka's struggle. "I hope you enjoy this, Asuka-senpai. Reina and I did this to each other." She saw Asuka's face become extremely red, which gave Kumiko happiness.

Asuka took the hands off of her cheeks. "Then I love it."

The two girls were smiling like idiots, but they were the happiest idiots. Kumiko yawned. "Sleepy?" Kumiko nodded. "Me too. I…kinda want to stay like this for a while. Is that okay?"

Kumiko smiled wide. "Of course." Asuka returned the smile.

"I love you, Kumiko."

"I love you, Asuka-senpai."

Asuka laughed. "We're dating now, right?" Kumiko nodded. "Just call me Asuka." Her smile was warm.

Kumiko's smile was bright. "I love you, Asuka."

And Kumiko drifted to sleep, Asuka not too far behind.

* * *

A/N: Man, this was much longer than the first person one I wrote. And a bit more...intense? I don't think that's the right word, but this had a much more "sexual" tones, than the first person one.

Hopefully, you like it. I liked rewriting this. I feel that I got to add a bit more to this chapter than the previous write-up of this.

Thanks for reading!


	3. Coming Out

Review Responses:

Panda2501: Thanks for the reviews! I have a feeling that you might be a consistent reviewer for this, and I can't help but be happy about it. About what you said, you'll definitely see what Reina would think. It's really all my mind can think about right now. Thanks!

* * *

Kumiko suddenly woke up, accidentally waking up Asuka.

"Kumiko," Asuka yawned. "What's up?"

Asuka noticed how much Kumiko was sweating. She felt hands on her body and wondered if Kumiko did anything. However, the face Kumiko had had an emotion of worry.

Kumiko sighed in relief. "I thought that this was a dream." She snuggled closer to Asuka, much to the senior's delight. "But…I had a nightmare." The delight in Asuka's face formed into one of worry.

"What was it about, Kumiko?"

Kumiko sat up in the bed. "How does your mom feel about…this? Lesbians, gays. How does she feel about it?"

Asuka heard the serious tone in Kumiko's voice. "I haven't told her. I was afraid that telling her about me coming out would leave me alone."

"C-could you call her? I'm worried about us. Our future." Kumiko's eyes were tear-stained, as was her shirt. Asuka sat up and hugged Kumiko.

"Shhh. Yeah, I'll call her."

She pulled out her phone, and took a big breath before dialing her mom. She must have been at home, since her call was answered immediately.

"Hi, mom. I have something to tell you. It's…really important."

' _Would you want to come over?'_

"No, I need to be with someone."

' _Asuka…'_

"Are you at home? Alone?"

' _Yeah, not much to do. That's why I asked if you wanted to come.'_

"No, but I know I need to tell you this now."

Asuka was silent, as was her mother. She took another deep breath.

"Mom, I'm…I'm gay. I'm with my girlfriend right now."

'…'

"Mom?"

' _Is that it?'_

"Y-yeah. I know you might not accept me anymore-"

' _Why wouldn't I accept you?'_

Asuka was in disbelief. "B-because, I t-thought you were a traditionalist. You know, a man and woman get married."

' _I can't really stop you, can I?'_

"Wait, what?"

' _Asuka, you are in college. You are living by yourself. I don't really have control over your life. I'll still be there for you.'_

It was now Asuka that was tearing up. "R-really?"

' _Yes. I remember what…I did. When you still wanted to be in band. I hated myself. Hitting my daughter. I made myself promise that I would support you in any way. I never wanted to be like that again.'_

"Mom…" Asuka was barely able to say, her fighting back tears.

' _I won't care if it's a phase. If my daughter is happy, I will be too.'_

"T-Thank you, mom!" Asuka said aloud. Kumiko heard this and hugged Asuka.

' _Just one thing.'_

"Yes, mom?"

' _I want to meet her. Can you come home for dinner over the weekend? I want to see the girl that caught your heart.'_

Asuka's face brightened even more. "Yes! Thank you, mom! I love you!" Asuka heard her mother laugh over the phone.

' _I love you too, dear.'_

"I can't believe it. She was so…supportive!" Asuka couldn't help but exclaim. She hugged Kumiko back, both in content.

However, the mood darkened a little. Asuka noticed how Kumiko seemed to deflate. "Kumiko? What's wrong? Isn't it great news?"

Kumiko smiled, but it was faint. "Yeah. But, it's time to tell my parents too."

"How do you think they'll take this?"

Kumiko sighed as she laid on her bed again. "My mom will be supportive, I think. It's more about my dad. He seems like a traditionalist. If he doesn't accept me…What will I do?"

Asuka laid down with her, draping an arm over Kumiko's body. "What do you think will happen?"

"I don't know…"

They were interrupted by a car on Kumiko's driveway.

"They're here?! It's too soon! I'm not ready!" Despite being in a panicked state, Kumiko felt the comfort coming from Asuka. Her hand was patting Kumiko's head.

"No matter what happens…I'll be here for you, Kumiko." Asuka's words gave comfort to the worried brunette. She placed a hand on Asuka's hand.

"Thanks. I love you, Asuka."

"I love you too, Kumiko."

…

"M-mom? D-dad? C-can you come sit down?" Kumiko's nerves were getting the best of her, and Asuka could hear it. She grabbed Kumiko's hand, shocking the brunette. However, it seemed to calm her nerves down.

"Oh! Another person! From school? No wonder there were extra pairs of shoes." Kumiko's mother said.

"What did you need us here for, Kumiko?" Her father was not as friendly.

"W-well, I have something important to tell you." The stares she was getting from her parents didn't help calm her nerves. "I…I'm gay!" She winced, and prepared for the worst.

Kumiko's eyes were closed, but Asuka's were wide open. Seeing Kumiko's parents change emotion was worrying. Her mother was neutral about this, just as Kumiko said. Her father's…wasn't as positive. His reaction went from shock, to stumped, to…anger.

"Kumiko, is this the girl that you are seeing?"

Kumiko couldn't dare to look at her father. "Y-yes."

"Fine. Tell her to leave. To never see you again." His voice was slowly rising.

It took all that Kumiko had, but she wasn't going to take this lying down. "N-no, father! I have been in love with this girl for a while. And I am not going to break up with her!"

"YES, YOU WILL!" Kumiko's father slammed his hand on the table, scaring everyone in the room. "YOU WILL, OR YOU WILL NOT BE MY DAUGHTER ANYMORE!"

Kumiko was trembling. She couldn't let her father take her life over. But…she was scared. "I-I'm sorry, father." Her voice was low and trembling. "B-but, I don't want to leave her."

Kumiko's father stood up quickly, pushing the chair he was sitting on backwards. "THEN YOU LEAVE THIS HOUSE! IMMEDIATELY! COME BACK WHEN YOU'RE NORMAL!" He stormed off to his room, not caring about any of the neighbours.

The door to his room slammed shut, and three people left were in silence. Well, other that Kumiko's sobs. Asuka was holding Kumiko in a tight embrace, trying to calm down the crying girl. Asuka noticed the mother coming around to the two of them. She turned Kumiko around so she was away from her mother. However, Kumiko's mother seemed…nice.

"Please, I just want to say something to you two." Asuka seemed to trust her enough, as she let Kumiko go so they could face her. "I'm not mad. I'm happy for you Kumiko. I support you two."

Kumiko couldn't believe that her mother was this…amazing. She leapt into her comforting arms and cried. Asuka's face wore a smile, and Kumiko's mother had a tear in her eye.

"Thank you, mom!" Kumiko thanks her mother through her sobs. "I can't believe that you support me."

"I will always be there for my girls. Always." She had a warm smile.

"Thank you, Kumiko's mother. I'll be sure to take care of her." Asuka couldn't help but show her gratitude towards the woman.

"Thank you…" Kumiko's mother realized that she never learned this girl's name.

"Asuka." The girl said with a warm smile.

"…Asuka-chan. I know you will be there for her. And please, call me Akiko." Asuka was honored to be able to call her girlfriend's mother by her name.

"Yes, Akiko-san."

"Now," Akiko asked, her voice having a hint of worry. "Your father…won't like it if you stay here. Even for the night. Do you have anywhere to go?"

Kumiko didn't think this far ahead. "No…No, I-"

"She can live with me." Kumiko and Akiko looked to the senior in disbelief. "I'm in university, but I live not too far from here. We can pack some of her stuff now, and she can live with me."

"Really?" Kumiko asked with a bit too much hope.

"As long as you need."

Akiko was worried. "W-what about the cost? I'm worried that you can't support both Kumiko and yourself."

Asuka laughed softly. "Don't worry about that. I have a job, and it pays well. I could get Kumiko to work with me as well. The rent's cheap as well."

Akiko seemed a bit hesitant, but she knew that it was the best for her daughter. "Okay, but know. If you run into any problems, I'll be here for you two."

Kumiko felt like the most loved girl in the world…well, by almost everyone. Asuka was her loving girlfriend and her mother was one you could never replace.

"Can we…start packing now?"

…

It was 10 in the evening when the three started to prepare Kumiko's things. Her school bag had she school supplies, textbooks, notebooks, and a few small items that can fit. She was also given a suitcase. She didn't pack too much, just her school uniforms and casual clothes. She was ready to leave, and the three women were at the entrance.

"Okay, be safe. It's dark out, so don't leave each other's side." Akiko went to her mother instincts.

"Yes mom, thank you. For everything." Kumiko went up to her mother and hugged her. It was comforting, but she soon felt the tears falling. From both of their faces. "I'll miss you."

"I will too. It will be lonely here, just your father and I. But, I know you two will be okay." Akiko was fighting through her tears. "I know you are a responsible girl, and Asuka-chan is in college. She must be a great woman."

Asuka couldn't help but blush from this praise. "Thank you, Akiko-san. I will be sure to take care of Kumiko."

Akiko's smile widened as she released Kumiko from her embrace. She kissed Kumiko on the cheek, and she went up to Asuka and did the same. "I know you will. I've only seen Kumiko with you for such a small time, but she seems really happy."

The three waved their goodbyes, however Kumiko had an idea.

"Mom, would you like to come have dinner with us? With Asuka's mother?"

"W-what?!" Akiko was surprised to hear this.

"Yes, my mother said that she wanted to meet Kumiko on the weekend. Have dinner. I think she would like to have a female friend to hang out with." Asuka explained.

"O-okay!" She could only utter words, but she was shaking with joy.

Kumiko ran up and hugged her mother again before leaving. "I love you, mom!"

"I love you too, sweetie!" Akiko had tears, but she knew that Kumiko would be happy. She thanked Asuka mentally.

* * *

Kumiko was still down about how the whole situation played out. However, it must be for the best. Her mother was extremely supportive about her relationship, and she had the most loving girlfriend she could ask for.

Was Asuka a bit…too loving? Maybe.

Since it was night, there weren't too many people around. So, Asuka was more…affectionate than normal. She clung onto Kumiko's arm and rested her head in Kumiko's shoulder. There were some people looking at them, but when they made eye contact they had thumbs up. Kumiko didn't realize until she looked at the people. They were mostly in pairs, and they were also the same-sex. These people had to spend their time in the night. Same-sex couples weren't really looked upon kindly. Seeing Kumiko's father's reaction…it makes sense.

A pair of men came up to the two girls, both around their late twenties. "Hi, are you two a couple by chance?"

"Y-yes." Asuka was given permission to be Kumiko's guardian by Akiko, so she made sure to be a literal guardian.

"Please, don't be scared." One man handed them a business card. He was tall, with a handsome face and short, black hair. He was wearing a suit, as was his partner. "We just came from dinner, and we happened to see you two. You look like a couple, so we wanted to ask you something quickly.

"Yes, we're not here to attack or anything." The other person spoke. He was a bit shorter than his companion, and had hair up to his shoulders, blonde. "We're a group that gets together. Many of the members are from the LGBT community and some are supporters of it. We hold talks, gatherings, and trips from time to time."

Asuka and Kumiko looked at the business card.

 _Sora's Acceptance Center_

" _Be yourself! No one will judge you here!"_

"I'm Sora." The taller man said. "My partner here is Kaito. We've been together for about…3 years?" Sora looked at his partner, who nodded. "Please, Call us, if you would like to know more. We have meetings every Sunday."

"Sora, we've taken up a lot of their time. Let's go!" Kaito was pulling him.

"Okay. See you later, maybe." Sora had a friendly smile. Kaito waved at the girls, who instinctively waved back.

"They were…nice." Kumiko said as they continued walking. "I want to go there, if it's okay with you…"

Asuka smiled. "Yeah, I want to try it too. Maybe we'll see some people there that we might know."

The two smiled. A whole organization for people that weren't accepted. "They have a good cause." Kumiko smiled.

"Yeah."

The rest of the walk was silent. Asuka clung onto Kumiko's arm again, but she seemed happier. So did Kumiko.

* * *

A/N: My first OC characters! Woo! I thought that rewriting all the chapters would be a pain. However, it's actually making me come up with more ideas. And I can't say no to that! Anyways, hope you liked it!

Thanks for Reading!


	4. Taking A Step

Review Responses:

Masane: Thanks for the kind words! I also like third person writing. I started writing like that, and I think it fits me well.

Panda2501: I can see why it was fast, but oh well. And as for "development..."

 **(If you're wondering why this was changed from T to M, well here it is! Lemon scene at the end.)**

* * *

The walk to Asuka's apartment was…exactly what Asuka said it was. It was only a fifteen-minute walk from Kumiko's former house, so moving Kumiko's stuff over would be a much easier task.

"Welcome, Kumiko!" Asuka said excitedly. It was about 10:30 when they arrived. A bit late for them because of their meeting with Sora and Kaito. They weren't complaining though.

Kumiko looked around and noticed-

"It looks like your old home." Kumiko thought that she said it aloud, but she realized that Asuka read her thoughts aloud. "I know, it really is the same. First door on the left is the bedroom, washroom across from it. We have a laundry room, albeit small. The kitchen is like your old house, as is the living room."

Kumiko was a bit deflated, but she could get used to this. It is a nice, simple home.

"Let's get your stuff ready. You need to be ready for school. As do I." The two went to the bedroom, which brought a thought to Kumiko's head.

"Asuka, where am I sleeping?"

Asuka turned around with an unamused face. "There's only one place to sleep. You'll be sleeping with me…oh." Asuka's face became embarrassed. "I-it's the only place. Sorry, Kumiko."

"It's alright." Kumiko's face had a smile. She was pretty excited to be side-by-side with her girlfriend. ' _Huh, maybe I am a pervert_.'

…

After getting ready for bed, Kumiko was shaking with excitement. _'Oh god, I get to sleep with Asuka! Don't be like that, Kumiko. It's only sleeping. She wouldn't want to do it, not today at least._

Kumiko was going to be in for a wild ride, trying to control her urges.

Asuka had only a tank top on. She could only assume that Asuka was wearing…anything below her. It was covered up by her pink top. It was loose around the breast area, exposing Asuka's cleavage. However, the top started to hug Asuka's fine curves around the waist.

She heard Asuka sigh. "If you're going to stare, at least try to not make it creepy." Kumiko didn't notice how long she was staring at Asuka. Or that she was drooling over the tantalizing body.

"S-sorry, Asuka." Kumiko's night was not going to get easier. She pulled the covers up and tucked herself in.

"Well, as long as it's Kumiko. It's okay." Asuka said with a smile. Something made Kumiko feel that the smile was a bit…seductive. _'Don't think too hard, Kumiko.'_

"Well, we should sleep. It's late."

Asuka was right. It was 11, and it was a school night. But…it was going to be Friday. The weekend would start soon enough.

"Nighty night, Kumiko! I love you!" Asuka put one arm over Kumiko's body and pecked her cheek. Didn't help calm down Kumiko though.

"G-good night, A-Asuka. Love you, too!"

Kumiko saw Asuka's eyes close, so she tried as well.

...

Nothing happened, she was still wide awake.

Her thoughts were filled with Asuka. The beautiful body her girlfriend had, the sounds of Asuka's breathing, the distinctive scent of Asuka. God, she was awful.

"Kumiko, are you still awake?" Asuka asked, sounding a bit groggy.

"Y-yeah."

Asuka sighed. "What could make you still be awake? Aren't you tired?"

"A bit."

"Are you thinking dirty thoughts?" Asuka wriggled her eyebrows. "Just by sleeping in the same bed as me?"

Kumiko couldn't take it anymore.

"Kumiko?!"

The brunette straddled Asuka, her legs on both sides of Asuka's body.

"W-we should be-"

Asuka couldn't say anything as Kumiko planted a long kiss onto her lips. Asuka felt a tongue poke at her lips, and she couldn't resist. Her lips parted and the two tongues started to fight. Asuka felt the shivers down her spine and her panties getting wetter by the minute. _'Who knew that Kumiko had this much power? Over me?'_

They broke the kiss. As Kumiko lifted her head up, s strand of saliva was between them. "Asuka, I can't help myself. I see you and I want to go so much further. Your body is just…too sexy."

Asuka felt her blush growing. "I think yours is s-sexy too, Kumiko." She placed her hands on Kumiko's waist and felt the younger girl shiver.

"You have so much control over me. Just by lightly touching me. But…would it be okay…?" Asuka heard Kumiko's nervousness in her voice. So, she moved her hands up and down Kumiko's stomach. The girl was moaning, much to Asuka's delight.

"It's okay, Kumiko. As long as we're both fine with it. And…" Asuka pulled Kumiko's head down for another kiss. "…I know I'm okay."

 **(This is the part when with gets lemony. If you don't like smut or sex scenes, turn away now!)**

Kumiko nodded and pounced on Asuka's lips. Their tongues fought with each other again. And again, Kumiko got the upper hand. _'She's really good at kissing.'_

However, this didn't last long as Kumiko's lips made their way to Asuka's neck. Asuka immediately moaned at the impact, but she was too entranced to try anything. She felt her neck getting sucked and bit, and she couldn't contain any of her moans. Kumiko pulled away, a smile plastered on her face.

"Now…" She leaned down and whispered in Asuka's ear. "…Everyone knows you're taken." Asuka gasped when Kumiko nibbled on the tip of her ear. But, she was still caught by Kumiko's allure.

' _God, this girl is fucking sexy.'_

It wasn't too long as she felt her top be pulled down, exposing her plump breasts. "Looks like these need some care." Kumiko did everything she could to be sexy and seductive. It had a strong effect on Asuka.

She went and put her mouth on one of the breasts, and used a hand to fondle the other. Asuka's moans were uncontrollable, and hearing them made Kumiko wetter. With her mouth, she rolled Asuka's nipple around with her tongue. She lightly bit the nipple and moved it around with her mouth. Finally, she sucked on Asuka's breast and released it with a popping sound. As she did this, her hand squeezed Asuka's juicy breast and she pinched and pulled her nipple. All of these actions caused loud moans to come out from her girlfriend, and it delighted her.

"I love it when you moan, Asuka. It's sounds…" she placed her hand on the outside of Asuka's panties while she leaned in and whispered, "…sexy."

Asuka gasped at the sudden contact when she felt a hand touch her lower lips. However, this quickly turned into breaths of pleasure. Kumiko didn't need to do anything but just rub her hand around. Asuka's juices were soaking her panties, but Kumiko didn't seem to mind. Instead, she pulled them to the side and started rubbing Asuka's clit.

Sharp breaths were made by the senior as Kumiko continued. However, she knew she wanted more. "K-Kumiko…please…"

"What, Asuka?" Asuka couldn't believe that Kumiko could be this dominant.

"F-Fuck me…Fuck my pussy."

"Yes. Anything for you, Asuka." Kumiko planted another long, passionate kiss on Asuka. Her free hand played with Asuka's breast. And she slowly inserted her middle finger inside.

It was a bit painful at first. A sharp breath caused Kumiko to stop. "A-are you okay, Asuka? I didn't mean to-"

Asuka somehow took control of her hand and pulled Kumiko's lips to hers. "I-its okay, Kumiko. It…feels good now."

Kumiko nodded and continued to play with Asuka's pussy. Her finger moved back and forth, and she was loving the sound of Asuka's quick moans. Kumiko felt herself getting worked up, and she took her other hand and put it inside her panties and started to rub her clit.

"K-Kumiko…it feels…so good…" Asuka was enjoying herself as she was being touched. She couldn't believe that Kumiko had this much experience.

"G-good." Was all Kumiko could say. Her lower lips were getting very wet, and she quickly inserted two fingers into her own pussy.

Kumiko felt a bit daring, and she inserted her ring finger into Asuka. She was happy to hear a louder moan and she started to imitate her own actions She could feel the tension in both her and Asuka building.

She went faster with both hands as her lips were kissing Asuka's fiercely.

"K-Kumi-ko-OHHH!" Asuka was screaming in pleasure as she reached her climax. Her juices coated Kumiko's hand and a bit of the bed.

"Asuk-AHH!" Kumiko came right after, her panties getting soaked. She slumped onto Asuka's body, with her head resting in Asuka's ample chest. They were both breathing heavily, but they were in a state of bliss.

Kumiko pulled her hands out of her and Asuka, the feeling of relaxation kicking in.

"Asuka?" The senior looked down at a very hot scene. Kumiko was licking her hand clean of Asuka's juices, smirk on her face. She felt herself getting wet again, but she had no energy to keep going.

Kumiko smiled at Asuka's expression. It looked similar to hers when she was staring at Asuka before. Wide eyes, and a bit of drool coming out of her mouth.

With her seductive voice, she whispered loudly. "Delicious." She brought her hand that she fucked herself with up to Asuka's face. "Do you want to taste me?"

Asuka didn't hesitate and immediately started to suck on Kumiko's fingers. _'Yeah, this is bliss,'_ was all Kumiko could think. As Asuka finished up sucking Kumiko's fingers, she popped the fingers out of her mouth. "Tasty," Asuka said in her own seductive voice. "How are you so good at this?"

Kumiko smirked. "I've been a bad girl, looking up some…videos."

Kumiko crawled up and planted a kiss on Asuka's lips. She was a bit thrown off by her own taste, as was Asuka. However, this caused them to giggle.

She placed herself in Asuka's arms, and Asuka embraced Kumiko. "This was the best day of my life." Kumiko's words made Asuka's heart flutter.

"Mine too."

The two peacefully drifted off. And fell asleep in content.

* * *

A/N: First lemon/smut/sex scene. Hopefully, this doesn't throw you off too much. I can only think that these two had some built-up tension and longing for the other. Please leave reviews! I want to see how well I wrote this scene, and if it was successful.

As always, please leave reviews and if you want, follow/favourite. The reviews might be helpful if I want to write more smut stuff.

Thanks for Reading!


	5. Girlfriends First

Review Responses:

Masane: Thanks for the response. From reading the last part, I have a feeling that the lemon part might interrupt the flow at least from what your saying. Makes sense. Sorry about that. I've been wanting to make a lemon scene for a while, but I could never think of the right time to do it. There won't be too much smut, maybe just sprinkled around. But, I'm happy that it was a good read!

* * *

Kumiko woke up, prepared to head to school early. She and Reina have been doing this since last year, so why stop now? Kumiko's eyes darted around the unknown room, but her eyes laid on Asuka.

' _Oh, yeah…Yesterday was…special. But-'_ she interrupted her thoughts with a yawn. "It's time to go-"

However, when she tried to leave the bed, Asuka's hand was tightly gripping her wrist. She sighed. "Asuka, I need to go to scho- WOAH!" She was pulled in by Asuka and was now wrapped in Asuka's embrace.

"It's only 7:30, Kumiko. Why are going to leave so early?" Asuka said in a sleepy tone.

"I was going to meet up with Reina-chan lik- AHH!" Kumiko was interrupted by Asuka attacking her neck with kisses. "A-Asuka…"

"Sorry, Kousaka-chan. But…" Asuka starts to suck on a part of Kumiko's neck. Once she was finished, she admired her work. "…Kumiko is mine for the morning. Please, can you just stay. At least for today." Asuka had her best pouting face…

…which worked on Kumiko. "Alright, you win." She laid down and let Asuka wrap her arms around her. _'This is…nice. Maybe this isn't so bad. Sorry, Reina.'_

…

 _Meanwhile…_

Reina was sitting on the train, alone. _'Why is she not here? She's always been here since we started doing this.'_

…

As Reina entered the band room, she was caught off guard by the sight she saw. _'Maybe, I was a bit too early.'_

She saw Mizore and Nozomi kissing. Really…passionately. _'I think…I saw a tongue.'_

She was further embarrassed when her and Nozomi met eyes. "K-KOUSAKA-CHAN!" Nozomi immediately broke the kiss and was blushing furiously. Actually, everyone was blushing furiously. "We- We were just- Well, you see-"

"Umm," Mizore interrupted the babbling girl. "Are you going to tell anyone, Kousaka-chan?"

She shook her head. "Not unless it's okay with the two of you. Are you two…dating?"

The couple in question looked at each other. Reina noticed that their faces say 'I think she knows. Why not tell her?'

"Yes, Mizore and I are dating. Are you okay with that, Kousaka-chan?"

Reina found it weird that new couples, especially same-sex couples, ask if it is okay. In here mind, people can love whoever they want. As long as the people are happy, she'll be okay with it.

She nodded. "How long have you two been going out?"

Nozomi had a face that was in wonder. However, Mizore seemed to know immediately. "For about 4 months. We started at the end of school last year. After Nationals. Nozomi was the one to confess."

Nozomi was blushing, since she was a bit nervous for someone to know that she was the one to confess. "Yeah, I did. But, Mizore is the one who is clingier." She knew that she stumped Mizore, who was blushing furiously now. "How about you, Kousaka-chan? We heard about…your confession. Yuuko kind of let it slip." Nozomi laughed nervously.

Reina sighed. She knew that her confession would be heard soon, but no one has really talked to her about it. "Well…I don't think it will go anywhere. Taki-sensei didn't really acknowledge them. I guess it makes sense, he is at least ten years older than me."

She wasn't wrong. When she confessed to Taki-sensei, she felt extremely embarrassed. She first did it in the auditorium, but no one really seemed to care. However, the second time she confessed, it was in front of the entire trumpet section. And…Taki-sensei basically shut down any advances that she could make. So, why go after him anymore? She had no chance, so she thought to block out love and focus on…anything else.

"Oh," Nozomi seemed to be down. However, her attention quickly changed. "Wait, Kousaka-san? Where is Oumae-chan? She's always with you in the morning."

Reina was just as stumped as the pair was. "I don't know, really…" To Nozomi and Mizore, Reina seemed distant. Well, more distant than usual. "…I'll be outside, practicing."

Reina took the necessary things and headed out. However, she was still pondering about Kumiko. _'Why…why isn't she here?'_

…

 _Back at the Asuka household…_

"Damnit Asuka!" Kumiko yelled out of the bathroom. She was looking in the mirror and she wasn't very happy. "This hickey…is- not- coming- off!" Kumiko tried to rub it off, wash it off. However, nothing was making it go away. The problem was that it was a big hickey which was on a visible part of her neck. Like, near the center of it.

"Now, now, Kumiko." Asuka came into the bathroom with a smug smile. "You think this…" She points at the hickey Kumiko caused yesterday during their…session. "…Is going to go away soon? Better question." Kumiko didn't look at Asuka after seeing the big red mark she left. So, she didn't notice Asuka walk up and lean on Kumiko's shoulder. She whispered sensually, "Is it better that everyone knows your mine?"

Kumiko was surprised that she could control herself. She was ready to pounce on Asuka and make love again. However, she knew she had to stop herself. They had school, after all.

…

The rest of the morning was uneventful. They left at around eight, and were on the bus to school. Kumiko was sad, as she and Asuka had to part two stops before Kumiko's.

"Do you have the spare key?" Asuka asked. "I don't want you to be left outside because I'm not there."

"Yes, I have it Asuka." She held the key up. "I'm going to miss you."

Asuka took a chance and hugged Kumiko, surprising the brunette. However, it didn't take long for Kumiko to reciprocate the hug. "I'll miss you too. I love you."

"I love you too, Asuka."

Before the train stopped completely, Asuka stole a kiss from Kumiko's cheek. She held her hand to the spot and smiled.

As Asuka left, there was only one thing Kumiko could think. _'I'm the luckiest girl alive.'_

…

That luck soon ran out.

She wasn't late to class. Actually, she arrived fifteen minutes early. Early enough for both Midori and Hazuki to start pestering her.

"Kumiko-chan, how are you today?"

For Kumiko, asking questions early in the morning was considered pestering.

"I'm fine." She didn't notice her blush deepening and her smile growing on her face. Last night was still fresh in her mind. Just remembering what happened was getting her worked up. Hazuki was much more observant than Kumiko gave her credit for. Maybe…in the worst way possible.

"KUMIKO! WHAT'S ON YO- MPHF!" Hazuki was immediately silenced by Kumiko's hand. _'This girl, goddamn.'_

Hazuki was struggling in Kumiko's grasp, but she couldn't have Hazuki proclaim to the heavens. With a murderous tone, she spoke quietly to Hazuki. "Now…I am going to take my hand off of your mouth. If you keep speaking loudly about this, I am going to kill you."

Hazuki knew that Kumiko was kidding…right? Well, no need to risk it. Kumiko on her bad side sounds…terrifying. She nodded, she definitely wasn't risking anything.

Kumiko did as she said and lifted her hand off of Hazuki's mouth. "Now, both of you. Sit down." Did she notice that she still had murderous intent in her voice? And her eyes?

Well, Midori and Hazuki certainly did. They obeyed.

"Um…Kumiko-chan…Can you calm down as well? I don't want to…well, die." Midori had a scared tone in her voice.

"O-oh, sorry." Kumiko seemed to calm down. "Yes, Hazuki. I do have a hickey. A big one." Midori didn't get to see the mark, so Kumiko showed it to her. Midori's mouth was immediately covered up by her hands. "I'm…seeing someone. Dating…her."

Hazuki and Midori looked at each other, then back at Kumiko. "She? So…you're gay?"

"Hazuki-chan, you have no filter, do you?" Kumiko said unamused.

"What? O-OH!" Hazuki didn't realize how bluntly she said it. "S-sorry, Kumiko-chan... J-just so you know, I'm okay with it. I'm just jealous that you found love." Hazuki feigned a fake pout, bringing a giggle to both Kumiko and Midori.

"Me too, Kumiko-chan! Congratulations!" Midori said with positive energy, which seemed to fill Kumiko with joy.

She wrapped her arms around the two girl's necks. "Thanks. I'm really happy!"

"So…who is she?"

"…Huh?" Kumiko gulped. _'I didn't plan for this. Should I tell them?'_

"Yeah, Kumiko-chan. Who's the girl your dating?"

"Umm…"

 _ **RING!**_

"Oh, sorry! Time for class!" Kumiko was relieved that the bell rang. For once.

"Jeez, Kumiko-chan. Unfair!" Hazuki said before she went to her seat.

…

Kumiko couldn't wait for school to end. During lunch, Midori and Hazuki kept pestering her about who she was dating. She wanted to tell them, however…she didn't know if it was okay to say anything about her and Asuka.

Kumiko was seated in her usual spot. She turned to look at Reina. _'She must be curious why I wasn't here today.'_ However, Reina wasn't in her normal spot. Instead, she was talking to Mizore and Nozomi. She was a bit sad, however mostly relieved. _'Well, she doesn't have to find out now, does she?'_

Taki-sensei walked in, but not for too long. "Okay, everyone. We have a week left for introducing our club to new members. We'll be in an ensemble later. Right now, please work together in your sectionals."

"YES!" The class responded.

Taki-sensei smiled. "Good. We'll have you there for about two, two and a half hours. After, we'll clean up."

"YES!"

…

Kumiko was a bit happy. She didn't have to talk to Reina, so she didn't have to explain why she wasn't here. _'Wow, that makes me sound like a scumbag. But, I don't think Reina would be ready for me to tell her that yet. I can't even tell Midori and Hazuki.'_

She gulped after reminding herself about that last part. She was now dreading being in sectionals. Both girls were still in the bass sectional, and she thought…

' _Oh shit.'_

She quickly walked to the bass section's room and opened the door. _'I'm too late.'_ She chuckled nervously as she saw Hazuki, Midori, and Natsuki gathered around. Goto and Riko were listening in as well. As soon as she opened the door, all eyes fell on her.

She chuckled nervously. "So…how are you guys?"

"No, no. Kumiko-chan, you aren't getting off the hook that easily." Natsuki grabbed Kumiko by the ear, dragging her in the center of the room like a mother would to a child.

"Just so you know," Kumiko heard Riko speak. "We're all okay with it here. I think the whole band would be okay with it!" Goto just nodded.

"Now, spill. Who's the lucky girl?" Natsuki had her teasing voice, which irritated Kumiko to no end. Natsuki was one of her best friends, but she can easily get on Kumiko's nerves.

"HEY!"

A booming voice was heard throughout the entire bass sectional.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY GIRLFRIEND?!"

Kumiko didn't know if she should feel happy or embarrassed.

' _So much for hiding it, huh?'_

* * *

A/N: Not really much to say here. I don't know how Japanese university runs, but if it's like how Canadian ones work I have some experience.

As always, leave reviews, favourite if you like, and follow for more.

Thanks for Reading!


	6. Friends Learn

Review Responses:

Deliberatee: Thanks for the review! I started from the end of season 2, so that could explain a lot. Asuka/Kumiko's relationship has had an entire year to devlop. Also, I felt that Kumiko's mother is a bit too timid when it comes to trying to "overpower" the father.

And trust me, I really wanted it to be KumiRei. I do hate KyoAni for the hard teases, but I found this concept interesting. Especially since Asuka is my favourite character.

Frostempire: Well, you'll get that soon.

Masane: Thanks, glad you enjoyed! I always saw Kumiko as deathly serious when things became serious, jokingly of course.

SixRay: Thanks for the review! Glad I caught you with the cliffhanger. I would like to know how my story seems rushed. It's something that I struggle with, but for this one I don't really see it. If you could, PM me or something.

* * *

The entire bass section was in shock.

"A-Asuka-senpai?!" Natsuki was the first to recover.

"What's up, vice-pres?" Asuka's demeanor changed from threatening to…well, Asuka.

"W-why are you here, Asuka-senpai?" Hazuki asked. Asuka patted the girl on the head.

"Well, my college classes all end before yours do. Everyday. So…I asked Taki-sensei if it would be okay for me to come in for practice. He said yes, so…here I am." Asuka now turned her attention to her seated girlfriend.

"Now…Kumiko, let's tell them about us. At least these guys."

Kumiko nodded and stood up with help from Asuka.

The room filled with…happiness? Kumiko was surprised that the aura in the room had feelings of joy.

"Yes, Kumiko and I are dating. We got together yesterday and she lives with me now."

"Wait," Goto was surprisingly the first person to say something. "She's living with you now? Just from yesterday? What happened?"

"Well," Kumiko knew she had to respond to this. "Both of our mothers were supportive of our relationship. However, my father didn't. He told me to leave the house immediately, so I left and started to live with Asuka."

Goto nodded, understanding the situation.

Natsuki wasn't as subtle. "So, you're living together…have you done it yet?"

The room went silent. "Really, Natsuki-senpai?" Hazuki was the first response to Natsuki's stupid question.

"What? I'm curious. They already told us that Kumiko left her house to live with Asuka-senpai. I wouldn't find it surprising." Natsuki had a face that said, 'I don't really care.'

When she looked back to the couple, she saw blushing faces. And they weren't looking at her or each other. Their eyes were fixated on the ground. "SO YOU HAVE?!"

Kumiko ran up and covered Natsuki's mouth. She heard grunts, but she decided to treat this like how she handled Hazuki. With a death glare directed at Natsuki's eyes and her murderous voice, she made Natsuki gulp. "Yes, we have done it. Do NOT make a big deal about this. Understand?"

Hazuki feared for Natsuki's life. Kumiko may be the junior, however when she shifted her voice she sounded like the Grim Reaper.

Natsuki never saw this side of Kumiko. And she never wanted to be on this side again. She slowly nodded.

"Good. Now, you will not speak when I take my hand off of your mouth. Got it?"

Another slow nod. _'I will make sure to never anger Kumiko again,'_ was all Natsuki could think.

Natsuki whole-heartedly obliged, never wanting to be under the death glare of Kumiko.

"Let's promise not to invade Kumiko-chan's life again. Okay, Natsuki-senpai?" Hazuki said to her senior. "I've been there today."

Natsuki gulped. "S-so, I'm not the only one...Yeah, I promise."

"Now please, don't tell everyone. We want to tell them together, okay?" The five people nodded at Asuka's request. "Thanks!"

…

Practice went on as usual, just with more Asuka. And more flirting with Asuka and Kumiko. When they took a break, Asuka went over and started to help Kumiko. Or tease her. Anything to flirt with the brunette. No one was annoyed.

Well, one was.

"Asuka-senpai, are you going to keep doing this to Kumiko-chan?" Natsuki asked. "Get a room!"

"Well, I'm surprised you don't leave and flirt with Yuuko-senpai." Kumiko fought back.

"W-w-w-what?! Why w-would I want to talk to her?! She's so annoying. She can never stop talking. And her being the president is so annoying, too! Always asking me to do stuff. Why can't she do it?!" Natsuki tried to defend herself.

The couple whispered to each other.

"She's totally in love."

"Yeah, what should we do about it?"

Natsuki growled. "I CAN HEAR YOU!"

The two laughed, along with Midori and Hazuki. "We know. Just go get her already." Asuka told her junior.

"S-shut up! I d-don't like Yuuko like that!"

Kumiko laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that, Natsuki-senpai."

…

The end of practice was ending, and Asuka asked Natsuki to pack up Kumiko's things. They left before the vice-president could blow up on them.

"Hehe, Natsuki-senpai was so mad." The two girls were laughing as they made their way to the instrument room.

"Well, there's a reason I wanted her to do it." Asuka responded as they entered the instrument room. "There's not many people here now, lots of instruments are back."

Kumiko leaned down to put her euphonium away. "Yeah, I guess. But why did you want Nats-"

She was interrupted by a passionate kiss from Asuka. A moan escaped her lips as she wanted more of the kiss. However, she had to stop herself from getting carried away.

"A-Asuka- Ah!" She could barely let her girlfriend's name escape as Asuka went and started to kiss her neck. "W-We're in schoo- Ah!" Her kisses weren't letting up on Kumiko's neck. "S-someone could see. We could get in trouble." Despite her warnings, Kumiko couldn't help but melt into Asuka's touch.

"But..." Asuka put on an innocent pout. "I missed you."

 _'Damn it, why is her pout so cute?!'_ Kumiko couldn't help but shake her head. "Are you sure you want to kiss now? I mean, when we do we become uncontrollable."

The cute, innocent pout turned into a cute, angry pout. "I wanted to do something like kiss..." Asuka moved her arms in a semi-circle. "...here! But, I've had no one to do that with." Asuka swiftly moved in and closed the gap between their faces. "You won't deny a senior their wishes, right Ouuumae-chan?"

The sudden closeness made Kumiko feel trapped. In a good way. "Fine," she sighed. "I'll do this for my senior. You're lucky you are so cute."

Asuka giggled. "I know."

Asuka quickly attacked Kumiko's lips.

"Kumiko?"

And immediately was stopped. Kumiko heard that voice and was scared. _'Shit, I haven't told Reina yet!'_ She took a hold of Asuka's shoulders and pushed her girlfriend away.

Asuka sighed exasperatedly. _'Really, now of all times?'_ She wasn't surprised. Kumiko and Reina were inseparable, much to her irritation. She didn't show it, but she wasn't so happy at how close the two girls were. Especially since Reina couldn't even show her love to Kumiko.

 _'Huh, maybe I have to thank Kousaka. I wouldn't have my Kumiko if she didn't break her heart.'_

The ravenette peered into the instrument room. "Kumiko. Oh! Asuka-senpai." Reina bowed politely at her senior.

"Hello, Kousaka-san! Just came to check in on the bass section. Had to make sure tha-"

"Asuka…" Kumiko motioned her head to Reina. "…We should tell her. She's one of my best friends."

Asuka was skeptical, but gave in. "Fine. Go tell her. I guess it is important."

"Thank you, Asuka." She saw Reina's lost eyes and laughed. "Well, Asuka and I are dating."

"O-oh…" Reina wasn't too sure, but she had a weird feeling. "Well, that's nice."

"Yeah, Asuka is…great." A wide smile was across Kumiko's face. Reina was dumbfounded and Asuka was giggling.

"Good, good." Reina was feeling very annoyed. Or nervous. She didn't know, but it wasn't a positive feeling. "Well, is it okay if I come over? We can work together on homework."

"Well, if you want to come to Asuka's house as well." Reina tilted her head in confusion. "My father ordered me to move out, so I'm living with Asuka now."

"O-oh. That's awful." Reina tried to give some sympathy to Kumiko's situation.

"Not really." Kumiko took Asuka's hand. "I get to live with the girl I love." Kumiko had a dumb smile on her face.

Reina wanted to smack it away. _'How can she just ignore being kicked out? Doesn't she feel sad?'_

"Actually, I'll just go home." Reina wanted to get away from these two. She didn't feel comfortable by being there.

"Well, we can still go on the same train. Her apartment is actually in the same direction as my old home!" Kumiko was excited that she can walk home with her best friend and girlfriend.

Reina didn't have the same feelings. _'Why does going home with Kumiko have to be so difficult?!'_

…

Kumiko, Asuka, and Reina all went home together. Reina, being polite, asked Asuka about school and her relationship. She feigned any interest though. She was focused on to why Kumiko was with Asuka. Why Kumiko wasn't with her in the morning. Was it because of Asuka?

"Would it be okay if I told some other people about you two? Like in band?"

Asuka put a finger on her chin. "Like who?"

"Mizore-senpai, Nozomi-senpai…" Reina felt out of line asking this.

"Well, I know that Natsuki-senpai already knows, so she'll probably tell them anyways." Kumiko looked to Asuka, who was nodding. "Yeah, go ahead!"

"Thank you for your permission."

' _And maybe,'_ Reina thought. _'They can help me.'_

…

The walk was pretty silent. Only hints of flirting between the couple. It was getting on Reina's nerves. _'Just a little more, Reina.'_

They got to the place where the three of them part. They exchanged goodbyes and Reina was left alone. Her mind was focused on one thing.

' _I wish that I had someone with me to walk home with. Like Kumiko.'_

* * *

A/N: Some of Reina's feelings are revealed! Are they obvious…? Maybe. But, I do want some conflict between Reina and Kumiko. Obvious plot is obvious.

Thanks for Reading!


	7. Besties

Review Responses:

SixRay: Thanks for the clarification. I'll just comment on some of your points:

1\. I feel that the bass section is calm with Goto and Riko around, and the others made it crazy. Since Natsuki is vice-pres, I would assume she would need to have order.  
2\. Yuuko/Natsuki and Reina's feelings...you'll see them soon.  
3\. Glad you liked the chapter!

Masane: It was a bit expected. But, I had to make some sort of suspense. Oh well. Glad you enjoyed it, though!

We love us: I think you do like this since you said that you'll read this anyways. So, hooray?!

* * *

Saturday was the day that Asuka's mother planned to have dinner. Her daughter called and asked if she could let Kumiko's mother come with her, which she agreed to.

The first hurdle for the new couple: wardrobe.

' _How would Asuka's mother see me as mature?'_ Kumiko realized that she didn't have many clothes. Her mother packed up some casual clothes. However, that's what they were. Casual. She had nothing classy, even if it is just a dinner at her…girlfriend's house.

' _I cannot fuck this up.'_ Asuka walked into the room, amused at her panicking girlfriend.

"Kumiko, are you still trying to decide what to wear?" Asuka clicked her teeth. "Don't fret about this too much. It's my house, not some classy restaurant."

"B-but, shouldn't I look nice for your mom? I need to make a good first impression, right? I don't want to look like a slob! How would-"

Kumiko's worries were taken away by a kiss. "Like I said, don't worry about clothes too much. Look at what I'm wearing."

It was spring, so it was warm. Asuka's outfit was simple. A light green tank top, designed with flowers. And a pair of jean shorts.

' _She looks pretty hot.'_

Asuka laughed. "Thinking out loud again, huh?" Kumiko's face went in a state of panic. "Maybe later, babe. We still need to get you dressed up."

Kumiko couldn't disagree. However, one thing caught her off guard. "Babe? When was I given a pet name?"

Asuka feigned a hurt expression. "Do you not like it?"

"Hmm…No."

Asuka's face became a frown. "Alright. You win." Asuka noticed the clothes strewn across their room. On the floor, bed, and table. She saw something that caught her eye.

"How about this, Kumiko?" She picked up a yellow sundress. It was a pale yellow with pink lining the bottom of the dress. "It looks really nice, and it's perfect for this day."

Kumiko took the dress and looked at herself in the mirror, the dress coving her half-naked body. "I thought about using this, but I thought it was too simple. Looking at it now, it does look nice. It helps that my girlfriend said it does too."

Asuka's heart still fluttered at hearing the world girlfriend coming from Kumiko. She couldn't be this lucky. Her face was heating up. "W-well, let's go with it! We still need to meet up with Akiko."

Kumiko quickly put on the dress. She was nervous that she was meeting her girlfriend's mother…officially, this time. However, being with her mother made her feel happy. Kumiko, her mother, and Asuka…a big happy family. Maybe Asuka's mother will make a…better impression.

…

Once they met up with Akiko, the three of them took the train to Asuka's mother's home.

"So…how has it been? Not being with us, Kumiko?" Akiko was curious. She always had her thoughts being clouded by Kumiko. Worrying about her, usually.

"It's…" Kumiko took hold of Asuka's hand. "…been nice. Asuka is able to come to my school after all of her classes." Asuka giggled.

"So, I can assume she teases you a lot. No! Not tease, flirt is the right word." Asuka giggled, as well as Kumiko at Akiko's fumbling. However, it was a giggle out of nervousness.

"You could say that…" Asuka said sheepishly.

"Ah, so you've had sex."

"M-Mom!" Kumiko and Asuka wore deep, red blushes. They couldn't bear to look at their girlfriend, much less one of their mothers.

Akiko laughed. "Don't worry about it so much girls! Asuka's in college, and my daughter is living with a mature woman who happens to be her girlfriend. In my eyes, you're both adults. So, whatever you do is up to you."

The two girls relaxed. Barely. _'I can't believe my mom already knows that we've had sex!'_

Asuka laughed again, still sounding nervous. "It's funny. That sounds like what my mom told me when I told her I was dating Kumiko."

"Oh! That's interesting." Akiko responded.

…

The walk to Asuka's house was pleasant. The three women talked about small subjects like school or work. The sun was in the sky, but it was starting to set.

"I am hungry!" Kumiko exclaimed.

"Dear, you're always hungry. Did you eat before coming here?" Akiko asked with her motherly concern. She saw the two girls shake their heads. "Then obviously, you'll be hungry."

"Well, we're here!" Asuka exclaimed after. "I can't wait to see my mom again."

They went up to the door. Asuka, since she wasn't living there anymore, didn't have a key. It felt weird, but she rung the buzzer.

" _Hello? Is it Asuka?"_

"Yes, mom. We're all here!"

" _Okay! I'm still getting dinner prepared. I'll get the door, don't want to leave you girls out there."_

Asuka's mother was walking up to the fence. For some reason, Akiko had a strange feeling.

The fence opened. "Hi Asuka. I can assume you're Kumiko." The girl nodded. "And…Akiko?!"

Akiko's eyes bulged. "Asumi?!"

"Umm…" Both girls were wondering how their moms knew their names. And why the two were hugging.

"It's been a while, huh?" Asumi asked Akiko. "How long has it been? Six years?"

"I don't know, really." Akiko laughed. "I knew that that name sounded familiar. 'Tanaka.'"

"I could say the same. 'Oumae' sounded like the girl I knew in high school But, I didn't expect it to actually be you!"

Asuka coughed. Loudly. "Sorry to interrupt this reunion, but Kumiko and I are hungry. And I want to know why you two know each other."

…

"I'm still preparing dinner. It will be finished soon, but it would be nice to have some help." Asumi told the three.

"Would it be okay if I helped?" Kumiko offered. She saw her mom step up, but quickly stopped her. "Mom, I don't think that Asuka's mother and I will get a chance to get to know each other, since you two know each other." She looked at the two older women. "Would it be okay to talk about you guys over dinner?"

The two moms were skeptical, but agreed. "She's probably right. You grew them up well, Akiko."

For some reason, that comment felt a lot more positive than Akiko expected.

So, Asuka and Akiko took a seat at the dining table while Kumiko and Asumi went to the kitchen.

"So, Kumiko. How has being with Asuka been?" The two were preparing the salad, so Asumi decided to create some small talk.

"It's been amazing!" Kumiko accidentally said louder that she expected. However, Asumi had a smile on her face. "Whoops. I really like being with her. It's just like how it was last year in band, but I can cuddle with her, and…"

Kumiko started to quiet down at the end, amusing Asumi. She decided to not tease her yet and instead still have the small talk she intended. "Yeah, that must be nice. You've kept going with band, right Kumiko?"

"Yes, Tanaka-san."

Asumi laughed. "Please, enough with the formalities. Call me Asumi."

"Well…maybe not yet. Can I be honest with you, Tanaka-san?" Kumiko's voice became much more serious. Asumi nodded, wanting to hear what she had to say. "I…didn't have a…good impression of you."

She tilted her head to the side, confused about what Kumiko was saying. "What do you mean? Isn't this the first time we've met?"

"Personally, yes. Unintentionally, no…" Kumiko didn't dare to look at Asumi when she was going to say this next part. "I was in the teacher's room when I saw you…slap…Asuka…"

' _Oh. Fuck.'_ Asumi was panicking. She wanted to never remember that. She promised herself to be a much better parent. She never wanted to do that ever again. "R-really…W-well, I g-guess I have a l-long way to go…to g-get on your good side…" Hearing a bomb of new knowledge was blown on top of her. She felt awful. _'I know some people saw that, but Akiko's daughter? Asuka's girlfriend? I don't think she'll ever like me.'_

"I thought that as well, Asumi. But…" Kumiko had a smile as she looked to Asumi. It puzzled the woman. "…You were the first person we told when we started dating. You were so supportive, and I can't really ever repay that."

It was warming Asumi's heart. _'So…I have a chance to actually not drive this one away?'_

"My mother was also supportive. My father…" Kumiko's energy started to drain away.

And Asumi was getting mad. "What happened with your father, Kumiko?" She hid her feelings well, but she was furious.

"He kicked me out of my home. He didn't want me because I wasn't 'normal.'" Asumi gripped the knife handle tighter, her anger rising. "But, my mother and Asuka was there to save the day. My mother is always going to be with me, through everything. She'll support me. And now, I'm living with Asuka."

"Well, I think I raised her well." Asumi felt proud of her daughter. "She's always the one to help her friends. I don't know if you know, but I have been giving Asuka a good chunk of money for her rent. She's gotten a part-time job, but I want to support her. Be a better parent than I was while she was in high school. I'll be sure to add a bit more now that I know you two are living together."

Kumiko was shocked at hearing this. "N-no, Asumi! You really don't have to! I'll be going to get a part-time job at Asuka's place of work. We'll be able to-"

Asumi shook her head. "You can't stop motherly love, can you?" Kumiko rolled her eyes, causing a laugh. "I have a great paying job, don't worry about that! I want you two to be extremely happy. I've only seen Asuka with you today, but…" She motioned Kumiko to look at Asuka and Akiko. "If she's that happy with your mother, she must be the happiest when she's with you."

Kumiko didn't expect that compliment, but it left her dizzy. Not literally, but her thoughts were rolling around in her head. A blush grew on her face. "T-thank you, Asumi."

"No problem, Kumiko. I already like you just from this talk. Being the daughter of one of my best friends from high school doesn't hurt." Asumi laughed. "Now, let's set up the table. It's time to eat!"

…

"Thanks for the food!" The four women said before eating.

Kumiko was busy scarfing down her food. "Kumiko, you're like an animal. Slow down!" Asuka laughed. Kumiko looked around and saw Akiko, Asumi, and Asuka smiling and laughing.

"O-oops." Kumiko's face developed a red blush. She also started to eat slower, just to not be made fun of.

"But," Asuka continued to speak. "I'm curious and I'm sure Kumiko is curious." The girl nodded. "How do you two know each other?"

"Well," Asumi was the first to speak. "It was one class. Do you remember, Akiko?"

"Of course! Home Ec! That was in, what, second year?" Akiko responded. Asumi nodded.

* * *

 _ **FLASHBACK**_

"For this assignment, you must partner up with someone. I would like you to make a beef stew. This will be due next week, so use your time wisely."

There was only five minutes before class ended, so the teacher allowed the class to pair up. Once they did, he told the class to report to him.

Akiko wasn't too popular, but she did have a small circle of friends. None of them took home ec though, so she wasn't to familiar with many of the faces there. She observed the room. Many of the pairs seemed to be friends. "Man, they must be lucky."

Asumi was moderately popular. She had many friends, and had a small number of admirers. When she took home ec, she expected an easy mark. However, her cooking seemed to be lacking whenever it was important. In addition, this partner assignment wasn't going to easy. Well, at least to find a partner. All of her friends that took home ec (which were a lot of them) were already partnered up. So, she was left to a small amount of people. However, one girl caught her eye. Dark brown hair, and looking around in the classroom. For some reason, Asumi didn't think that girl was looking for a particular partner.

She walked up to her. "Hi there!" The brown-haired girl turned her attention to Asumi. "Are you looking for a partner?"

Akiko didn't know why Tanaka was coming up to her. She only knew her from her friends spreading her name around. One of them pointed her out, and she didn't seem so special. Shoulder length black hair. Somewhat cute. Not too much to the girl.

"Umm, not really…" Akiko told her, the desperation not detected in her voice.

"Oh." Asumi was a bit deflated, but she needed to go with someone. "Well, would you like to work with me?"

Akiko wasn't surprised that she heard that question. _'Why else would you come up to me?'_

"Sure, I guess."

"Sweet! Oh, I'm-"

"Tanaka-san. I've heard of you before." Akiko said before she could say anything relating to introductions.

"Oh, cool!" She was a bit annoyed. _'She's going to be a tough nut to crack. How are we going to do anything?'_ "Well, I'll go tell the teacher."

"Sure, whatever."

Akiko sighed, as did Asumi when she got out of earshot.

' _Maybe…I made a mistake.'_

 _ **FLASHBACK OVER**_

* * *

"Well, I guess it didn't," Akiko laughed. "We got a B on that assignment. I think you used me, and we still didn't get an A."

"S-shut up!" Asumi said. "It was your fault. You may have had a high grade in that class, but working with you was a nightmare."

"What does that mean?" Akiko had a teasing tone.

Asumi sighed. "Jeez, Akiko. Always so difficult. Anyways, after that we just grew closer-"

"More like you never left my side. You had other friends, but you stuck with me?"

"Well…" Asumi was stumped. "Shut up."

"Jeez, you two sound like a couple." Kumiko commented. "Did you two ever date?"

The two moms burst out with laughter.

"Never crossed my mind, honey." Akiko responded to her daughter.

"And I was going out with your father, Asuka."

"Oh." Asuka didn't think that her mom and dad were high school newlyweds. "But, really? Dating didn't cross your mind once?"

"Nope." Akiko told her. "Our parents were much more traditional than your father, Kumiko. We would be terrified if they found out, so I guess dating another girl was just…filtered out."

"Huh, interesting." Asuka said.

The conversation died down as the women kept eating.

"Hey, Asumi. Your cooking has gotten better." Akiko saw Asumi smile. "Not by much though." She laughed when she saw the frown on Asumi's face.

…

"Hey mom," Kumiko asked while she, Asuka, and Akiko were heading home. "Are you going to see Asumi again?"

"That's a weird question. No, I haven't planned to. Why?"

"Well," Kumiko scratched the back of her head. "Seeing you two together, I can see how happy you two are."

"I agree. My mom looked really happy when she saw you." Asuka chimed in.

"Gosh, you make it sound like I want to see her again." Akiko laughed.

* * *

 _Earlier That Day…_

Reina made plans to meet up with a couple of girls. A literal couple. When she got to the café, she didn't expect two other girls to show up with them. _'I guess it wouldn't help. Natsuki-senpai knows Kumiko and Asuka-senpai as well.'_

"Ahh, Kousaka-chan! I know you wanted to talk to me and Mizore, but Yuuko and Natsuki wanted to join us." Nozomi had her hands together, pleading for forgiveness.

"It's okay, Kasaki-senpai. Hello, Nakagawa-senpai. Yuuko-senpai. Yoroizuka-senpai." Reina bowed at the table of girls.

"Kousaka. You don't have to be so formal." Natsuki said to her black-haired junior. "We're all friends here! Well, maybe not Yuuko."

"Hey! I'm more of a friend of the people than you are, Natsuki." The two girls glared at each other.

"Can you guys just go out already." The typical question was turned into a statement by Nozomi. "Seriously, how have you guys not kissed yet?"

"Shut up!" Natsuki and Yuuko both said to the flutist.

Nozomi sighed, then turned her attention to Reina. "So, what's up Kousaka-chan? I have a feeling that you don't normally call someone to meet up."

Reina nodded. "Yes, I don't usually call. If I hang out with someone, I find them while I walk around. But, I have something important to ask you."

Mizore looked to Reina, as did everyone else at the table. "What is it, Kousaka-chan?"

Reina felt...nervous. A new emotion she didn't really feel before, and she had to explain the whole situation with her seniors.

"Well, I don't know if you are aware. Well, Naka-"

"Kousaka, just say our first names."

"Natsuki-senpai knows. Kumiko and Asuka-senpai are dating."

The three girls not aware were surprised. Natsuki…just remembered. "Oh yeah! They told me that! They also told me some stuff that they did."

Yuuko sighed. "Just like Natsuki, invading people's personal life."

"Wow, Asuka and Kumiko, huh? They do seem good together." Nozomi commented.

"I agree. They were open with each other during practice, and they are both euphonium players." Mizore also included.

Those comments were making Reina…mad? Why? "I don't know why, but I have a small problem with their relationship."

Now the entire table was confused, Reina included. "What problem would you have with them, Reina?" The trumpet senior asked.

"I'm not sure. When Nozomi-senpai and Mizore-senpai were talking about Asuka-senpai and Kumiko, I was getting…mad? I think?"

Mizore had her neutral face while Nozomi brought a finger to her chin to think. Yuuko and Natsuki put their differences aside and whispered to each other. She saw Natsuki nod her head.

"Kousaka, would that feeling you had be jealousy?"

' _Jealousy. I think that was it.'_ Reina thought back to the summer camp. Seeing Taki-sensei and Niiyama-sensei. When Niiyama-sensei made Taki-sensei laugh. _'Yes. It has to be that.'_ Reina didn't respond, but she was nodding at the euphonium player.

"Okay, that makes sense…No, it doesn't" Natsuki said. "Why would you be jealous, Kousaka?"

"Yeah," Yuuko chimed in. "What about Taki-sensei? Aren't you still going for him?"

' _That's right. I've only told Nozomi-senpai and Mizore-senpai.'_ Reina shook her head. "Not anymore, Yuuko-senpai. He didn't do anything when I told him my feelings in front of you. I gave up on him, he would probably want to be with a woman that is around his age instead of me."

Yuuko felt sad for her friend, but she understood where she was coming from.

Natsuki wasn't as understanding. "Okay, two things. First, sucks for you and Taki-sensei. But, it makes sense." Reina was happy that Natsuki didn't make fun of her. Hearing the stories Kumiko talked about including Natsuki made Reina assume Natsuki was a joker. It was nice to know that Natsuki had a somewhat caring side.

"Second. That doesn't really clear things up. You're still jealous, but for what? Aren't you happy for Kumiko?"

Reina thought about it, but quickly responded. "Yes, I am happy for her. But, there's just a feeling of…!" She remembered the thought of seeing Asuka and Kumiko walking together. "It's a feeling of loneliness!"

It took a while, but Nozomi, Mizore, and Yuuko understood. Kumiko was Reina's best friend, so not having her around would make Reina feel lonely.

"That makes sense." Mizore said.

"I see, Kousaka-chan." Nozomi responded.

"It's great you understand your feelings, Reina-chan." Yuuko said. "Did you get enough information?"

"Yes, I thank all of you." Reina stood up and bowed.

"Kousaka. Can you come with me for a sec? We'll just be in the washroom," Natsuki assured her friends. She grabbed Reina's arm and dragged her to the washroom. Reina was confused as to why Natsuki needed to talk with her, alone.

…

The washroom was luckily empty, and it was convenient that is was a washroom that could only have one person. This time, it held two.

"So, Reina. Is that it?" Natsuki's tone was cold, harsh. It was making Reina uncomfortable.

"What do you mean, Natsuki-senpai?" She didn't ignore that Natsuki called her 'Reina' instead of 'Kousaka.'

"The jealousy you felt…it was only you being lonely?"

Reina was stumped. What exactly was Natsuki getting at? "Y-yes, I saw Asuka and Kumiko walking together. And my thoughts were that I wished I had someone like Kumiko to walk with me."

"Why just Kumiko?"

Reina was getting a bit worked up. "Because she is my best friend. I wouldn't want a stranger to be walking with me."

"Hmm." Natsuki was still not on Reina's side. "Are you going to tell Kumiko that?"

Reina hadn't thought about that. But…

"Yes, it wouldn't be right to not tell Kumiko my feelings."

"Yeah, just as I expected." Natsuki grabbed one of Reina's shoulders. "I just want to say. When you tell Kumiko this, don't be surprised if things go south. If they do, call me." And with that, Natsuki left, and Reina followed.

The five of them got together and left the café. They parted ways, leaving Reina alone with her thoughts.

However, Reina's thoughts were clouded with what Natsuki said. _'How would things go south? All I'm doing is telling Kumiko my feelings about her relationship. I'm fine with them dating, I'm happy for Kumiko and Asuka-senpai. I just know that she would appreciate knowing what her best friend would say.'_

* * *

A/N: Interesting chapter. I thought about splitting this into two separate chapters, but I didn't think Reina's POV was long enough. But, oh well.

As always, leave reviews and favourite/follow if you would like.

Thanks for Reading!


	8. A Year Long Confession

Review Responses:

Masane: Glad you enjoyed! I hope that this chapter isn't making the pace too quick, but I felt that it was the right time.

SixRay: I'm happy that you liked that chapter! You'll be getting the talk...now!

Avlionempire127: I don't know, does she? Hmm...Glad you enjoy this story!

* * *

After saying goodbye to Akiko, Asuka and Kumiko went back to their home. Kumiko was in high spirits after hearing that her stuff was packed up. Her, Akiko, Asumi, and Asuka were going to help Kumiko move her stuff to Asuka's. Thankfully, there were only a few things to move and they were going to have no problems with her father. After moving Kumiko's things, the moms were going to hang out while Kumiko and Asuka were going to take Sora's offer.

"I knew that our moms want to hang out. It's been so long for them." Asuka said in a happy tone.

"Yeah, I hope they have fun! And Sora's place is- huh?" Kumiko was interrupted by her phone. A message.

"What is it, babe?"

"It's Reina. She wants to talk to me." Kumiko looked at Asuka, who was wearing her pouting face. "Sorry, Asuka. I want to go with you, but I do need to tell Reina. I haven't talked to her in a while. You know, one-on-one."

Asuka sighed. "Fine. I guess your right. I still need to tell Kaori and Haruka, anyways.

They reached their house, but Kumiko left with her bike. She waved to her girlfriend.

"Don't leave me waiting too long!" Asuka said before she closed the door.

…

Daikichi Mountain. Whenever Reina and Kumiko met up here, it was always because they talked about their feelings.

' _Well, I guess we're doing that today.'_

As she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, she saw Reina. Like she always was, waiting for her.

"Are you ready?" Reina asked.

Kumiko nodded.

And the two biked to the normal place they talked.

As they biked, Kumiko couldn't help but notice how Reina was looking. She wore a blue sundress which flowed while she was riding.

"It kind of looks like…" Kumiko was reminded of when they were on the resting area. When Reina dragged her finger down Kumiko's face. It was…enticing. She was anticipating for more. But, nothing. Her thoughts were getting muddled with all of the times she and Reina were so close together.

At the hall. When Kumiko told Reina that she loved her. She wouldn't care about what anyone would say is Reina won the solo. She remembered when Reina cupped her cheeks. She put her face right in front of each other. Their lips were so close. If Kumiko wasn't so scared, she would have kissed her. But, she hoped that Reina would have done it. She prayed that Reina would return her feelings. She poured out all of her emotions in trying to help Reina with everything. She hoped that just one thing would start a domino effect. But, no. She said something that Kumiko couldn't remember. She was so sad that Reina didn't do anything. She confessed…but, Reina probably only saw it as love for a friend. When Kumiko was left alone in that room, she cried. She just wanted her love to be reciprocated. And yet, nothing.

The fireworks festival. As they went off, as they watched it. It was beautiful to see, but Kumiko could also remember how Reina looked. Her hair in a neat ponytail, wearing her kimono; Kumiko thought that she was the most beautiful person. She could remember the feeling of holding hands. The warmth that emanated from her. It was almost too much for her to handle. And still, nothing. Her feelings weren't obvious enough?

It was then that Kumiko knew she didn't have a chance to love Reina as more than a friend. All of her advances, for nothing. Reina only saw it as them being best friends. She felt cowardly. She made it somewhat obvious for Reina. She was too afraid to make a push. Maybe that was the reason. Reina was oblivious to this, Kumiko knew from experience. _'I guess it just wasn't meant to be.'_ So, she went and became the best friend she could be.

She was still keeping up with Reina, and the stopping place was close by. However, Kumiko never noticed that she was crying until her thoughts stopped. She wiped them away, not wanting to worry her best friend.

They approached the rest area. And the two of them took their regular positions. Kumiko took her seat on the stone steps, still wiping her tears. Reina gazed out towards the city, the light illuminating their faces.

"Kumiko." The brunette perked her head up to look at Reina. "Kumiko, are you crying?" Reina turned around and saw the tears in Kumiko's eyes.

' _Shit.'_ "Yeah, sorry. The wind was getting in my eyes while we rode here. What were you going to say?"

"Well," Reina turned back around. "It's about your new relationship."

Kumiko sighed. "Rei-"

"I'm happy for you. I was surprised that you were able to find anyone. I thought that you would be with Tsukamoto-chan."

Kumiko wanted to interject, but she was annoyed at that last sentence. _'Everyone thought I would be with Shuuichi. I hate that. I would have rather been with you or Asuka.'_

"I talked about you two with Nozomi-senpai, Mizore-senpai, Yuuko-senpai, and Natsuki-senpai. I had this feeling…I found it to be jealousy."

"W-w-what?!" Kumiko gasped. _'Is Reina…confessing?'_

"But, the others said that it wasn't jealousy. It was a feeling of being lonely. I need you with me, Kumiko!"

Kumiko…deflated. She thought that Reina would find her feelings about Kumiko. If it was, Kumiko wanted to tell her 'no.' It would feel awful for both her and Reina, but she wanted Reina to feel her pain. Why? Well, being so close to the person you loved yet nothing happening...it can change a person.

But no. It's not that. Why would it be. It's just her and Reina being best friends. She hated it, but it was too painful for her to listen to.

"Could you wait one sec, Reina?" She nodded. "Thanks."

She pulled out her phone and immediately went to Asuka.

She texted her, somewhat in a panic.

Kumiko:  
 _Is it okay to tell Reina?  
_ _The feelings I had for her before?_

Asuka:  
 _You might be risking a lot, Kumiko._

Kumiko:  
 _I think it's the only time I can tell her.  
_ _She's with me right now._

Asuka:  
 _You'll have to deal with it.  
_ _I can only comfort you._

Kumiko:  
 _That's fine by me.  
_ _I think she needs to know.  
_ _If we can still be friends._

Asuka:  
 _Then, do it.  
_ _I'll be here for you. Always._

Kumiko:  
 _Thanks, babe._

Asuka:

 _…  
_ _Calling me babe now, huh?_

Kumiko laughed.

"What's so funny, Kumiko?" Reina questioned.

Kumiko sighed. Her face became serious.

The face Reina saw unnerved her. "Natsuki-senpai said that things 'may go south' if I tell you my feelings."

Kumiko trusted in some people. Reina. Asuka. And Natsuki. She told Natsuki about her feelings for Reina before she started dating Asuka. So, Natsuki knew. _'Yeah, this might go south.'_

"You said that you need me, right?"

Reina was nervous. But, she had to stand her ground. To talk to Kumiko. "Yes, I did say that."

"So…that's it?"

Reina nodded.

"How are you doing with Taki-sensei?"

Reina forgot. _'I never told Kumiko about him either.'_ "I gave up on him a while ago. He didn't respond to my feelings when I told him directly. So, I figured I had no chance."

Kumiko's anger rose a bit. "Yeah, you have no chance. Just like I didn't have one."

Reina became confused. "You didn't have a chance? Chance at wh-"

"A CHANCE AT BEING WITH YOU!" Kumiko shouted. "Natsuki was right."

Reina was still processing that last part. "Chance…with me?"

"It was always about Taki-sensei! And I went and helped you! I buried my feelings that I had for you and tried to be the best friend you would ever have."

Reina was surprised. She was hearing all of Kumiko's feelings…

' _Her feelings for…for me…'_

"BUT DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT HURT? Sure, I was afraid to say anything. I didn't want to ruin our friendship. But…did you not see what I did for you? HOW MUCH I WANTED TO BE MORE THAN JUST A BEST FRIEND?!"

Kumiko and Reina were both streaming tears.

"K-Kumiko, I-I never meant-"

"I KNOW THAT. I know that, Reina…but…" Kumiko's voice was cracking as she kept going.

Kumiko took a second to wipe her tears. To regain composure.

"I didn't get anything that you did to me."

"Wh-What do you mean? I didn't do anything…"

Kumiko shook her head. "No, Reina. You did so much. And yet, nothing happened. I supported you for the solo. I told you that I loved you. We held hands at the fireworks festival. The warmth I felt…it was magical. Yet, nothing."

"I-I didn't know-"

"Whenever you touched me. Got close to me. You held my cheeks and put your face so close to mine. I could have done something, but I was afraid of scaring you away. That you wouldn't be my friend if I kissed you like I wanted to."

Kumiko did what they were both used to doing. She cupped Reina's cheeks and faced her. "When you did this to me, my heart would race. Hell, it still races. But…that feeling is gone now. The feeling of...love."

Kumiko grabbed both of Reina's hands. "I still want to be friends with you, Reina. But…Do you know how long it took for me to recover? How long it took to get over you?"

Reina couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't want to. She felt so guilty. _'I made Kumiko feel this way? My best friend?'_ Instead of saying anything, Reina shook her head.

"A long time. I remembered my time with Asuka, and I guess my romantic love for you just…faded away. I finally found the one, Reina. She's the most loving, caring, beautiful woman that I fell for. In a lot of ways, Asuka's like you. But the difference…is that we both share the same kind of love. A romantic one. I want you and I to have our love as friends. Nothing more."

"K-Kumiko…I-I'm sor-"

"NO!" Kumiko said at the top of her lungs. "I don't want your pity. No saying sorry. All I want to know is if you will still be there for me. The way I was there for you, and I hope to still be."

Kumiko dropped Reina's hands. "Don't answer me yet. I want an answer, from the bottom of your heart. When you find it, PLEASE! Tell me, Reina."

Kumiko headed for her bike quickly. Reina was frozen in place. As Kumiko got on, Reina came to her senses and walked quickly.

"Things may be awkward, Reina. But hopefully, we'll fix that soon."

Those were the final words before Kumiko left Reina alone.

"KUMIKO!" She tried her hardest to call out to her…best friend? She didn't know what to call Kumiko anymore.

' _Natsuki was right.'_

Reina fell to her knees and cried.

"I miss her already…"


	9. The Ride Home

Review Responses:

SixRay: I'm so happy that I made people emote! Glad you liked it! As for Reina, you find out soon enough.

pandayuri9: You know Asuka well. I wonder what Reina will do...

* * *

The bike ride home was painful. For both girls.

Reina didn't move for a while. She wallowed in her grief. How could she be so ignorant? To hurt the person she loved the most…how could she forgive herself? How could Kumiko forgive her?

' _I trusted Kumiko. She put all her feelings, her trust into me. And I crushed them.'_

She thought back to all of the times Kumiko talked about. Her best friend was right. They talked about such personal thoughts. The times she cupped Kumiko's face. How she brought her face so close.

' _I'm the worst. I tortured my so-called best friend.'_

Reina looked at her hands. The guilt was mixing with the grief.

' _I never noticed how much relief she brought me. Just by being there, I felt so much confidence.'_

Her tears were falling onto her palms.

' _And I just took it for granted.'_

She remembered what Natsuki said. She pulled out her phone, and texted Natsuki.

Reina:  
 _I told Kumiko.  
_ _You were right.  
_ _Please.  
_ _Help me tomorrow._

Reina waited for a response. She wasn't expecting one, since it was so late. So, she packed up her stuff and went back onto her bike.

' _Kumiko, please. Still be my friend. I don't want to be lonely.'_

She couldn't feel a thing as she rode her bike back home. So, she didn't notice Natsuki's reply until she got home.

Natsuki:  
 _Okay._

...

Kumiko's eyes were filled with tears as she rode home, so she took it slow.

' _I can't believe I said all that. No, this was for the best. If I kept those feelings to myself, it would have ruined our friendship.'_

' _But…Did I already ruin it? Because of this?'_

Kumiko decided not to think to hard about this. At least, until she got home.

"Kumikooo!" Asuka leapt into her arms as she entered the door. She planted quick kisses on her cheek. "I've missed y-"

"Asuka." Kumiko stopped her girlfriend's advances. "Not right now." Kumiko trudged to the bedroom and sat down on the bed.

Asuka leaned on the doorframe, frown evident on her face. "So, Kousaka didn't take it well?" She walked over when she heard Kumiko wail to comfort her girlfriend. "Shhh, let it out." She put Kumiko's head on her lap while she stroked her hair.

"I fucked up, Asuka. I don't want to lose Reina, but…I think I did." Kumiko sniffled. "Would she still want to be friends?"

Asuka lightly laughed, which caused Kumiko to look up. "I think that you two are inseparable, which makes me a bit annoyed." Asuka was happy as she heard a small laugh from the sobbing girl. "What did you tell her?"

"Is it that important?"

Asuka pushed her glasses up. "Extremely. That's going to determine how long it will take to make up."

And Kumiko obliged. She told Asuka about what she told Reina. Her feelings towards the girl. Her history with dealing with not being able to love her. Everything that was shared on the mountain.

Through all of this, Asuka kept a straight face. Every word pierced her heart. The pain that Kumiko conveyed was hitting Asuka in all directions. She knew about Kumiko's love for the ravenette, but not to this detail.

When Kumiko was finished, she was shuddering. All the pain, heartache. It was all out there. And she waited for a response.

"Do you still love her?"

Kumiko didn't know why, but that question hit harder than she expected.

The truth was…she might. Not as strong as her love for Asuka, but there is a small place that still contains her love for her best friend.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Asuka. I think this whole thing…" She pointed to the two of them. "…Was it a mistake? I feel so bad, and it will hurt you. A small part of me, I think still lov-"

Asuka tilted Kumiko's head. She leaned down and kissed her.

"Asuka, plea-"

Another kiss, a bit deeper.

"What a-"

Another longer, more passionate kiss.

Asuka saw the intended effect happening on Kumiko; her arms wrapped around Asuka's neck, pulling her down, Kumiko getting up to sit on Asuka's lap.

"That small spot you have for Reina. The feeling of love. I want it to be mine. All of it."

Kumiko looked into Asuka's eyes. She saw warmth, comfort, care.

"You're right. The fact that Reina still has a spot when she broke your heart…it makes me sick." Kumiko didn't expect the venomous response. "I know you two will make up. But when you do, I only want it to be as friends. It'll take a while for me to forgive Reina. Because she hurt the person I love. The one I want- no, need to protect. I want you to be mine, Kumiko. Mine, and mine alone. I want you to love me the same way. With all of your heart, no spaces for anyone else."

Kumiko could only stare. _'I don't think it will take too long for Asuka to be the only person I love.'_ She didn't want to believe it. That she could get over Reina so quick. It was the feeling that just wouldn't go away, for a long time. _'But, Asuka hooked me.'_

"I don't know if you believe me…but I think that's happened." Kumiko said.

Asuka doubted it. "What? It happened right now?"

Kumiko pushed her face to meet Asuka's lips with her own. "Yes. What you just said made me realize. No one can ever be as good as you. I feel so stupid just thinking that. Because…you're perfect."

Asuka couldn't contain her blush. Kumiko could tell.

"Tsk, tsk Asuka. So arrogant." Kumiko pushed her lips into Asuka's again. She poked her tongue onto Asuka's lips, who quickly parted her mouth and made their tongues play.

The two of them were tired, so they didn't go too far beyond intimate kissing. However, there was one thing Kumiko knew.

 _'Asuka, I'm never going to let you go. You're the best thing that happened in my life.'_

* * *

A/N: The absolute shortest thing I've written. However, I want this story to go long. Thus, I kinda want the chapters to be based around a day. There will be time skips, albeit short ones. This was the end of Saturday (for this story), so it finishes another day.

This was a transitional chapter, I guess. After that big talk between Reina and Kumiko, I wanted to relay their feelings post-talk. Hopefully, you guys aren't too sad for this short chapter. The next ones will definitely be longer.

As always, leave your reviews and follow/favourite if you liked it.

Thanks for Reading!


	10. An Unlikely Confidant

Review Responses:

Masane: For Ch. 8, I did try to remember if they used bikes or they climbed. I couldn't remember, so I decided to go with biking. I did think about when they were going home, and how I could have made it a hell of a lot more tragic. But, what's in the past is done. Oh well.

As for chapter 9, I'm glad that you like the chapter finishing on the end of the day. I'm also happy that you liked the part with Asuka and Kumiko. Just how I thought they would be when it comes to it. Glad you enjoyed!

SixRay: That's how Asuka would be. Well, at least for me. Thanks for the kind words!

* * *

Reina woke up, eyes still feeling tired. Her feeling of guilt wasn't helping her have a peaceful morning.

' _Natsuki-senpai will help me. I don't want to lose my best friend over…something I caused.'_

Reina didn't want to cry right now. Thankfully, it was Sunday. She had time to prepare herself, at least mentally.

However, it would be better to prepare after a nice sleep. Her head looked over to her clock. _'7:30? It's so early. Why did I wake up now?'_

She thought back to the previous day. Ignoring the fight...was it even a fight that she had with Kumiko? Most of it was Kumiko pouring out feelings Reina could only assume were pent up for a while.

' _No, focus on after that.'_ Reina didn't want to dwell on it for too long. Her day would start horrendously if she could only think of that.

When she got home, she immediately went into her room and…cried in a pillow.

' _I must have passed out while I was crying.'_

Reina rubbed her eyes, not expecting them to be watery. In fact, her shirt was being covered in tears. Just thinking about what Reina did to her friend…

She ran to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. No matter how much she wanted the thought of Kumiko out of her head, it wouldn't leave. Her eyes wouldn't stop streaming tears. She splashed water in her face.

' _Just calm down Reina. Please, calm down.'_ She was taking deep breaths. It helped, but she was still feeling awful.

Not the greatest start to her day.

She walked back to her room, and saw that she had a message.

Natsuki:  
 _You holding up?_

She smiled. _'Natsuki-senpai is so…nice. And I hurt one of her friends. Why does she even help someone like me?'_

She texted back.

Reina:  
 _No, but I think talking to you will help._

She waited for the response.

Natsuki:

 _Cool. When do you want to talk?_

She wanted it to be soon. She couldn't live with herself knowing that she dealt so much pain to someone she supposedly cares so much about.

Reina:  
 _Is 12 okay with you?_

The response was almost immediate.

Natsuki:  
 _Yes, meet me at the café. The one with the cat._

Reina:  
 _Okay._

Reina was happy. But she thought about why she was going to meet up with Natsuki and became deflated.

It was going to be a rough day.

…

Reina approached the entrance of the cat café. However, she didn't see Natsuki anywhere. Maybe it was because she was a bit early. It was 11:50, she had time to wait. So, she took a seat on a bench.

…

"Kousaka!" Reina opened her eyes. She didn't fall asleep, but she was tired. Her morning wasn't great, after all. However, she was slightly annoyed.

"You're 30 minutes late." Reina's tone was venomous and harsh. Okay, she was annoyed.

"Sheesh, my bad Kousaka. I had some stuff to do." Natsuki said, her tone having an "I don't care" feel. "Well, staying out here isn't going to help. Let's go inside."

Reina sighed. _'Maybe I put too much faith in Natsuki-senpai helping.'_

The two took a seat. The waitress came over giving them a menu. The two didn't order much. The two got some coffee. Natsuki wasn't looking to relax here.

"So," Natsuki quickly got to the point once the waitress left. "How are you feeling?"

Reina sighed. She rested her head on her hands. "Not too well. I fell asleep while I was crying. I felt awful."

Natsuki nodded. "Did you get to say anything?" Their beverages came before Reina responded.

However, Reina was hesitating. "Y-yes…" She looked down at her cup. "I was only able to say that I needed her. I was feeling lonely without her. Then she went and told me everything."

Natsuki noticed the tears coming from Reina's face. "Hey, wipe your eyes. Crying doesn't look good on you." Reina listened and wiped her eyes with a tissue. "How much did she tell you? About her feelings?"

Reina was curious. "You seem to know a lot about Kumiko's feelings."

"Well, when a friend needs someone to talk to, you listen to them. Right?" Natsuki told Reina. "When she was spaced out while playing or wasn't playing right, she always took me aside. That's how I found out about you two."

"S-so, you knew about her feelings?" Reina asked timidly.

Natsuki nodded. "I was actually pretty angry with you. Kumiko quickly became one of my friends, and seeing her sad was upsetting."

"Did she talk about me liking Taki-sensei?"

"Yup. She was mad that she had to help you get with someone that…Well, he was way out of your league. Not only because of the age." Reina's mood flattened which Natsuki noticed. "Don't worry about that now. You're over him, right?"

Reina nodded. She was surprised that she got over Taki-sensei so quick. She hasn't really thought about love past him, which she didn't mind.

"I'm not mad either." Reina perked up. "Well, a bit. But, I can assume that you do feel lonely."

Reina sighed. "Yeah. I don't feel lonely as I do feel guilty. I don't think I deserve to feel lonely." Reina stirred her coffee. "I made my best friend hurt. She had all this pain built up…because of me."

Natsuki poked Reina. "We're going to talk somewhere else." Natsuki paid for the small drinks and the two left the café.

…

They found a bench to sit on. Reina had some time to think while they walked, but her thoughts were so muddled that she couldn't keep them sorted.

"Kousaka," Natsuki said. Reina perked her head up. "To be honest, this should take a while for both of you to get over. Knowing Kumiko, she would probably bottle it all up. And then as vice-pres, I'll have to scold her."

"R-really," Reina responded in a distant tone. She didn't like hearing that she and Kumiko wouldn't be able to make up for a while.

"Hey, cheer up."

Reina was confused. "B-but, you said that it-"

" **Should** take a while." Natsuki's emphasis on the word made it clear to Reina.

' _I-I might have a chance?'_

Natsuki saw the hope in the trumpeter's eyes. "How desperate are you? To be by Kumiko's side as her best friend again?"

Reina didn't hesitate. "If I don't have her with me, I'm lost. I need her."

Natsuki nodded. "You know that she will probably spend less time with you and more with Asuka-senpai. Can you deal with that?"

Reina took a deep breath. "I might not like it, but yes. I need to be a good friend and be supportive."

"Why won't you like it, Kousaka?"

' _Wasn't that obvious?'_ Reina thought. "I'm lost without her, like I said. I won't like it if I'm away from her. She's my best friend."

Natsuki kept a neutral face. _'Kousaka need to face the facts.'_

"So, none of it is because of romantic love?"

Reina wasn't following Natsuki's logic. "Of course not. I said, she's my-"

"Yes, I know that. But that's what I heard Kumiko say all the time." Natsuki saw the irritation in Reina's face. But, she had to be blunt. "If you do develop feelings for her, know that you can do **nothing** about it." Reina's face was in a state of confusion. "If you start to **love** Kumiko, you're going to face the same pain that Kumiko dealt with for that year. Can you handle that?"

Reina…never even thought about that option. But, one thing was certain. "Yes, I can. I won't fall in love with Kumiko. I've decided to put love aside after Taki-sensei. Focus on music, school. It's normal to be like that."

Natsuki sighed as she nodded. Reina took this as Natsuki understanding. "Whatever you say, Kousaka."

Natsuki was the complete opposite. _'I have a feeling. I know that this won't end well.'_

"Well, I have something to do. I'll see you later, Kousaka." Natsuki told her goodbye to Reina.

Reina waved, but her feelings were mixed up again.

"Kumiko is just a friend. I'll be there for her as a friend, not a lover. I'll apologize tomorrow, she deserves it."

' _Right?'_

* * *

Quick note: How excited are you for the Hibike movies? I laughed when I saw that they were going to focus on second year and how I'm revolving my story around this. I'm more hyped for the second movie, though. Mizore and Nozomi was the ship I loved watching, and I'm excited for their backstory/future.


	11. Meeting In the Center

Review Responses:

Masane: Thanks! I am anticipating those movies, but we have to wait for so long. Makes me sad :(

SixRay: Easily called it, if it wasn't obvious enough. I don't know if it's an arc or not, but it definitely not a sub-plot. It's most likely a main plot.

Deliberatee: I agree with basically everything you said.

* * *

The day was perfect. Sun was out, but a strong breeze kept it cool.

The perfect day for moving your stuff.

"Mom! What's in all the boxes?" Kumiko yelled out. Thankfully, Kumiko's dad wasn't home. Thus, the four women had some time to move Kumiko's things. It wasn't a lot because Kumiko didn't have too much things in her room. It was annoying her that none of the boxes were lab-

"Kumiko, the boxes say what's in it on the other side." Asuka told her, in a monotone voice.

Kumiko walked around. "Oh."

Asuka sighed then laughed. "Always so lazy, Kumiko." Kumiko blushed, embarrassed when her mother came and started to laugh as well.

There were three boxes, all medium sized. The three labels on the boxes were: "Clothes", "School", and "Other."

Despite not having too many boxes to bring, all of them were pretty heavy. It took at least two of them to move it.

"Jeez, how heavy could a box with clothes could be?" Kumiko grunted as she and mother were moving it.

"Well, having shopping days help. Especially when they go on sale, you go crazy." Akiko laughed. "To be honest, I don't know if any of these fit you." They placed the box in the trunk. "You'll have to check with Asuka later."

Kumiko nodded as the two took a small break.

"Hey! My mom didn't park her car so you two could ride in it. Let's get to work ladies!" Asuka playfully commanded. She was stopped by a hand going on her shoulder.

"Now, now. All of the things are done. A whole three boxes are accounted for." Asumi told her daughter. "Let's head to your place. We need to do some more lifting after."

The Oumae girls groaned. So did Asuka.

…

The four girls rested in the living room. The boxes were all finished moving. All that was left was to unpack them.

That was left to Asuka and Kumiko. Right now, Kumiko was being comforted by the two mothers. She just told them about her "falling out" with Reina. She didn't want to lose her as her best friend. She was shuddering as she cried.

"Honey, it's okay. You two will make up. I know it." Akiko was comforting her daughter.

Asumi was hesitant to touch the crying brunette. However, Asuka was beside her and encouraging her to try. "Kumiko, don't worry." She patted Kumiko's shoulder.

Kumiko wiped her eyes. "Yeah. I hope so. Asuka said the same thing, but…I'm still scared. I've known her for so long…and for things to end like this…"

Asuka took her turn to comfort her girlfriend. She rested her boobs on her head as she embraced the girl's head. "It's not going to end, babe. You and Reina will make up. I know it."

Kumiko felt so loved. The four of them…a big, happy family. "Get your boobs off me!" Kumiko laughed along with everyone. "Thanks everyone."

They all smiled at each other.

"So, any plans tonight?" Asumi asked the couple specifically. "Akiko and I were going to go out and look around. How about you two?"

"We knew that already. Mom told us." Kumiko said to Asumi. "We were planning to go to this community thing. We were given a business card from an older person and his boyfriend." Kumiko ran to her room to get the card.

"Sora and Kaito were the name of them. They owned an "Acceptance Center." Or something like that." Asuka told the mothers as Kumiko came back. "Apparently, they're bigger than I thought. About a hundred and fifty people. All are part of the LGBT community or supporters of them. So, we were going to go to one of their meetings."

Kumiko continued for her girlfriend. "Luckily, they meet on Sundays. So hopefully…you could drive us there?"

"Is it far from here?" Asumi asked.

"Umm…no. But you're already going out and have a car! Please!" Both Kumiko and Asuka put on their best pouts.

The two mothers looked at each other and sighed. "Of course we will, what do you take us as?" Asumi asked teasingly.

Akiko was curious. "When do they start, anyways?"

The two girls looked at the time. "Uh oh. We need to leave. Like right now."

Thankfully, the four were all ready. So, they rushed to Asumi's car and drove to the center.

…

"You won't need us to pick you up?" Akiko asked as Kumiko and Asuka left the car.

"No, mom. We can walk back. It was us being lazy." Kumiko confessed. "You two enjoy yourselves!"

The girls waved at their mothers as they left. "So, shall we go in?"

Kumiko nodded at her girlfriend's question. It was 5:45, fifteen minutes before the start.

As they entered, they were surprised with how simple the place was. A small table that was housing a secretary. The middle of the room was filled with chairs. There were an influx of people coming in, forming a line in front of the secretary. They were happy that the LGBT community was growing in their area.

They saw two familiar faces, and the two faces lit up as well.

"Mizore! Nozomi!" Asuka took the two into a hug, which they gladly accepted. "It's been so long!"

"Hi Asuka-senpai!" Nozomi said to her senior. She also acknowledged their junior. "Hi Kumiko! I'm so glad you two are here."

"Me too." Mizore said in her shy voice, although her voice had a great deal of excitement in it.

"So, I assume that you two are a couple." Asuka said. "Just kidding. I knew you two would get together eventually."

Nozomi nervously chuckled. "Yeah, just over the break. It's been so great being together. And we heard from Reina-chan!"

It was Kumiko's turn to be nervous. Just mentioning Reina's name made her feel down. Asuka sensed this, so she responded.

"Yeah! It's been a short time, but it's been amazing. Right, Kumiko?"

Kumiko perked up after hearing her name and nodded. "Yeah! Being with Asuka is the best…thing…"

"Umm, Kumiko-chan?" Nozomi was confused as to why Kumiko wasn't as focused on the four.

"Look." Kumiko pointed at a place. Where was unknown to the other three, but as they looked further…they saw something interesting.

A yellow ribbon that stuck out.

The four looked at each other and had devilish grins, including Mizore.

…

Natsuki and Yuuko were walking hand in hand into the Acceptance Center. They got together over the break, and have only got closer because of band. They kept it confidential, however. Everyone teased them for not being together, despite that they were. However, they felt embarrassed to tell anyone.

"I wonder what this meeting is going to be today." Natsuki said.

"Maybe it's a trip! We haven't had one of these in a while." Yuuko said enthusiastically to her girlfriend. "We can afford it, right?"

Natsuki nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you." She smiled while Yuuko blushed at the praise. "I've been managing my money better. And it's all thanks to you, Yuuko." Natsuki placed her head on Yuuko's, much to the delight of the blonde girl. Yuuko was always glad to make her girlfriend happy.

"Silly." She playfully pushed Natsuki's head off of hers, and smiled at Natsuki's feigned hurt expression.

"Well, well. Look at what we have here."

They shrieked and jumped when a hand landed on their outer shoulders. They stood in fear as they heard their senior's voice.

They looked to each other, but their view was blocked by Asuka's smirk. She whispered in their ears. "So, you going out or what?"

The two girls quickly released their hands and stood as far away as they could.

However, the four girls were tired of these two idiots not being all lovey-dovey.

Mizore (of all people) and Kumiko pushed Yuuko and Natsuki together. Nozomi and Asuka stood beside each other with stern looks and their arms crossed.

"Don't resist, you two. We've already taken pictures," Asuka declared, much to the embarrassment of the other girls.

"WHAT?!" The two girls panicked. The four others sighed.

"Asuka, show them." Nozomi told her senior who obliged.

Much to Yuuko and Natsuki's horror, the pictures were unmistakably them two. Holding hands, heads on shoulders, all the works.

"D-Delete those!" Yuuko demanded. It was a pathetic plea, since she barely said her command quietly. "I-It's embarrassing!"

"Yeah!" Natsuki added. "I don't want everyone to see us like that!"

The four girls were in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me." Kumiko said to the struggling girls. " _Everyone_ sees you like that already."

"R-Really?" Yuuko questioned. "I thought it wasn't that obvious."

"It was too obvious." Mizore told her friend. "If you argue a lot with one specific person, people start to say things."

"Now, can you idiots start being yourselves?" Nozomi asked the two girls.

Natsuki was the first to cave in. "Alright. Is it fine, Yuuko?" She sighed.

Yuuko was trying to resist, but it was inevitable. "Yes, I guess we can."

The two weren't together, at least physically. So, Mizore and Kumiko pushed them to be basically hugging. The two wore extremely red blushes, but had smiles on their faces.

"Thank god," Nozomi sighed. "It's better seeing you two be close than to be bickering all the time." This didn't help their blushes go away.

It took a while for the six girls to calm down, since Yuuko and Natsuki had to get over their high of being "officially" together.

"From what I heard," Asuka started to say. "You two seem like you've been going here for a while."

"Yeah, we learned about this place when it was pretty small." Natsuki responded. "Sora is one of my cousins, so he told our family about his new organization."

"So, are you the first person he tells when something happens?" Nozomi asked.

"Sometimes. I usually hear it after Kaito does, but sometimes he doesn't tell me anything."

Yuuko nodded. "It's true, Natsuki usually tells me after. So, I guess nothing is happening?"

Natsuki shrugged. "You never know."

…

The six of them found a seat close to the front. Sora and Kaito quickly got to the podium.

"Sorry for the delay, had some paperwork to take care of. Welcome to the Acceptance Center! We don't have too much to talk about today, so this meeting will be quick. We're planning to have a new trip over summer, just for a week." The audience was murmuring, so Sora guessed that there was some interest. "If you are interested, we have a lot of information on these sheets." Kaito was holding up a sheet so everyone could see. "They will be at the secretary's desk, so please take a copy. That is all. As always, new people should go to the secretary so your email is in our data. Please be safe while going home and enjoy the rest of your day."

Some were annoyed that the meeting was so short when they could have been emailed this information. However, the meetings always had something exciting.

"Food!" Kumiko said, having a bit too much eagerness.

Asuka laughed at her girlfriend's antics. "Just like always, Kumiko and food go hand in hand." The others laughed at Kumiko's embarrassment.

"A-Asuka!"

So, the six of them helped themselves to the buffet. The food choices were vast, and the way Kumiko indulged into it was unsurprising.

The six of them found seats and ate. It was peaceful with some light conversations sprinkled in. As they were close to finished, Sora and Kaito walked up to them.

"Natsuki! And Yuuko-chan, I see you are here again. And you brought some friends!" Sora said with enthusiasm. "I remember you four girls. Are you enjoying it here?"

They all nodded in unison. "Yeah, I'm excited about that trip! Where is it to?' Asuka asked.

"We'll be headed to Gunma, I hear that it's more advanced than a lot of other places. And, they have a lot of places that are accepting of LGBT people." Kaito informed them.

"Sweet! That sounds awesome!" Asuka said in excitement. "How about it, Kumiko?"

"Well, I think we'll all be on break by then. It's just the price…is it expensive?" Kumiko asked. She found it reasonable to ask, they are still young after all.

Sora laughed. "You girls can't look at a piece of paper?" He joked.

"I was afraid you were going to be stupid, Sora." Natsuki told her cousin.

He continued. "It's about 33000 yen, hopefully it's a bit reasonable for you guys."

Mizore, Nozomi, and Kumiko were all frozen.

"T-that's a lot…a lot of money." Nozomi was the first to respond.

Sora pouted. "I was afraid that you would say that. You are still in school, I assume." Sora saw the four of them nod. "Damn, I wish I could do something. All I can do is help Natsuki."

The four of them whipped their heads toward the couple. Yuuko was blushing, as was Natsuki. "Idiot! Why would you tell them that?!" Natsuki demanded.

Kaito stepped in, but wasn't angry. "I assume you told them you two are cousins?" Natsuki, who was clearly annoyed, nodded. "Well, it's a family thing. I hope you understand."

The four girls nodded. "Makes sense. Does Yuuko-senpai get the same benefit?" Kumiko asked.

"No," Yuuko grumbled. "Natsuki is lucky."

Natsuki stole a kiss from Yuuko's cheek. "Sorry, Yuuko. It's family stuff."

"Oh, now you grow arrogance." Sora deadpanned. "If you can't make it, I understand. I'll try to make arrangements next time. But if you can, I hope you'll enjoy!" The two waved to the six girls and walked away.

This left them to think.

"How are we going to get that much money?" Mizore, Yuuko, Nozomi, and Kumiko all sighed.

Asuka laughed. "We're going to get some jobs!"

Four girls sat, confused about Asuka's proposal. Kumiko sat there, wondering.

"A-A job? We have so much to deal with, how can we handle a job?" Yuuko asked worried.

"Yeah, Asuka-senpai! School, band, and now a job? How can you be so sure that you can get us jobs?" Nozomi questioned. Mizore nodded to her girlfriend's question.

"It would help, but…What?" Natsuki tried to say, but the five other girls stared at her angrily.

"Don't you talk about money for this trip." Yuuko told her girlfriend with harsh venom.

"Eheh, s-sorry…" Natsuki said, intimidated by her girlfriend and the rest of the girls. She looked down. "I would want to get a job too." Natsuki said quietly before she stopped talking about paying for the trip.

Yuuko sighed. "Anyways, where would we find a job? There aren't too many places."

"Well, lucky enough," Asuka declared proudly. "The place where I work at is not really employed, since it's not extremely busy. I can probably get you guys a job there. I've been a loyal employee, so I should get some advantages."

"Where DO you work, Asuka?" Kumiko asked. She knew that Asuka had a job, but she didn't know where.

"It's a local coffee shop. It's not too far from your school and the time is manageable. I can probably get you a time after band. It does get busier after that time."

"Well, that's convenient." Nozomi said, getting a nod out of Mizore and Asuka.

"Exactly! It's perfect! How about it?" Asuka asked with enthusiasm.

They looked at each other.

"Well, you did promise me." Kumiko said, while Asuka nervously laughed.

"Ehh, what the hell. Sure." Yuuko said. "We should head there at the earliest time we can." The girls nodded in agreement.

"Then, it's settled!" Asuka said as the girls all smiled.


	12. Explosive Emotions

Review Responses:

SixRay: Yeah, I don't know if I'll focus on the work that they do. It was mostly an excuse to say where Asuka worked, since I did mention it. I can either go in two ways: skip it entirely and just head straight for the trip, or have a small side story where I can expand on the idea further. Thanks for the compliments!

Masane: It seems so obvious, so I went with it. I'm glad you liked that.

* * *

"Kumiko." Natsuki called out. The six girls were leaving the center, but Natsuki had to ask Kumiko before they left. "Could I talk to you?"

"Huh? Oh, sure." Kumiko thought nothing of Natsuki's request. "Just wait a bit Asuka." She saw her girlfriend nod and stayed with Yuuko.

"What's up?" Kumiko asked.

"Kousaka."

Hearing Reina's name made Kumiko tense up. "W-what about R-Reina?"

"I've talked to her. About you two."

Hearing this, Kumiko started to become angry.

"Wait. Before you blow up." Natsuki put a hand up to stop her. "I have to be the mediator. Both of you trust me, somewhat."

"I don't know if I can trust you anymore." Kumiko said, with a bit of anger in her voice. "You told Reina!"

"No. She told me about what happened yesterday." Kumiko seemed to calm down after hearing this. So, Natsuki continued. "She was crushed, just like you were. How are you going to handle this?"

Kumiko was trembling. "I-I don't…I don't know."

"Kumiko." Natsuki said sternly. She grabbed Kumiko's shoulders to steady her. "You need to talk about this."

"I know!" Kumiko said, her voice was slightly raised. "I'm just…scared."

"Don't you think Kousaka is even more scared? She hurt you without even knowing, and it hurt you badly." Natsuki took her hands off and started to walk away. "I don't want to see you girls fall out."

Kumiko was surprised with how blunt Natsuki was being with her. But, she was right. _'I need to talk with her.'_

Before she went back to the group, she wiped her eyes. She saw the tears she had, so she had to calm down.

She also had to be calm to not lose Reina.

* * *

Kumiko was riding the bus home when she saw Reina. She was too afraid to engage her, as was the other girl. However, Reina forced herself to sit beside Kumiko. "Kumiko. Can we talk?"

Kumiko was getting nervous, but she pushed herself. She didn't like the awkwardness between them two. "S-sure."

"I remembered what you said. You don't want an apology. You want an answer." Kumiko looked to Reina. "I don't want us to be like this. I hate not being with you. I still want to be friends, just like how it was. I don't ever want to hurt you again." She stood up and bowed to Kumiko. "Please let us still be friends!"

Kumiko's heart was warmed at this sight. She put a hand on Reina's head. "I want to still be friends too. I might have hated not being with you, but as long as we're together…I'm complete." She let Reina sit back down. "I accept, Reina."

Both girls were smiling. Their happiness couldn't be contained. They sat in the bus in a comfortable silence.

Until Kumiko leaned on Reina's shoulder.

"Kumiko. I don't think Asuka would like this. I was the person you liked first." Reina said. She sounded calm, but her emotions were very shaken.

"It's okay. She doesn't need to know. It's just…us being friends." Kumiko said calmly.

Reina felt a bit daring. She kissed the top of Kumiko's head, and immediately pulled away and blushed. "Is it…okay to do that?"

She looked down and saw Kumiko smiling. "That's okay. It's just a friendly kiss. I wouldn't mind it."

Reina felt guilty…but she was glad that she could be like this with Kumiko. Being a shoulder to lean on, kissing…

…

Reina jolted up from her bed. _'No. No, that's not right.'_ How could Reina be thinking like this? _'I don't like Kumiko like that. Just as a friend. I just need to apologize to her.'_

Reina calmed down after drinking a cup of water. However, the dream that wasn't true was plaguing her mind.

* * *

Kumiko was doing her normal routine. She got up early to get ready for school. Asuka was still sound asleep, somehow. So, she couldn't stop Kumiko from doing her routine. She would get ready, and meet up…with…

' _No, I can't. I want to make up with her. I know it. Just…not right now. It's way too soon.'_

Kumiko stopped and reset her alarm. Asuka woke up, but it was obvious she was still tired. "Kumiko," she said groggily. "Where are you going?"

Kumiko smiled. "Nowhere, just got a drink." She was happy to see Asuka smile back.

"Okay. Come back here! I want my pillow." Asuka said, which amused Kumiko.

"Oh, I'm a body pillow now?" She said as she was climbing back into their bed.

"Yup!" Asuka immediately wrapped her arms around her girlfriend as soon as her body was beside her. Kumiko laughed and was soothed back to sleep.

…

Reina was not feeling rested. Waking up in the middle of the night did not help, and it took a while for her to fall back to sleep. However, she did what she always did: she got ready for school and left her house at 7:00.

As she walked there, her mind was occupied with one thing: Kumiko.

 _'Kumiko only started to come to school with me when I asked her to. That was last year, but I've done it a lot before then. Why…does it feel so lonely now?_

 _'It's because of how I and Kumiko are right now. It was nice to be beside her and have a companion. She's not going to do that now. It's too awkward between us. She wouldn't want to see me.'_

Reina didn't notice her tears until her thoughts stopped. _'Why am I being like this? This is just like how it was before. No one beside me, just myself._

'… _And I hate it.'_

She wiped her tears and kept walking. She held hope that Kumiko might be there, waiting for her. But she was being optimistic.

When she got to the station. When she boarded the train. When she got to school. She was still alone, no Kumiko beside her. It was expected, but it still hurt her.

' _No. You brought this on yourself. All that's left is to tell Kumiko that she wants to be friends. Like how it was, before she told me that she loved me.'_

"Kousaka-chan? Are you okay?" Nozomi asked, worried for her. Reina didn't notice that she was already in the music room which held the same two people.

"Yes, Nozomi-senpai. Just…thinking. That's all." Reina responded.

"Oumae-san isn't with you?" Mizore asked innocently.

Reina knew that Mizore didn't mean to hurt her feelings. It was a good question since they always were together. "No, not today. Excuse me." She bowed to her seniors, grabbed her things, and rushed to her normal practicing area.

Nozomi and Mizore were concerned for Reina. "Can we do anything to help her?" Mizore asked her girlfriend.

Nozomi smiled. "Sorry, Mizore. I don't think we can." She patted Mizore on the head as she saw her frown.

…

Kumiko arrived at school, in her classroom with five minutes to spare. She was greeted by Hazuki and Midori, but she didn't talk to them for too long. She gave them an excuse of not feeling too well. To be fair, she wasn't wrong. But she wasn't sick or anything. She was just still worried about Reina.

 _'I can't do it! I'm too nervous to talk to her. Natsuki's right, she must be terrified to see me. I shouldn't feel this way, I don't have the right to. I want to talk to her…but I don't know if I can…'_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the bell. Class was starting, and all she could do was push her thoughts away.

…

"Oumae-san. You were behind by a bar. I know that this is a small performance, but please don't fall behind." Taki-sensei said with his usual bluntness.

"Yes. Sorry, sensei." Kumiko was embarrassed, but she couldn't dwell on that for too long. She hasn't talked to Reina for the entire day, and her mind was getting overwhelmed by her emotions. Asuka and Natsuki noticed how Kumiko was acting in band. Natsuki notice that Reina was spaced out when they weren't practicing. They were worried for their friends.

Practice went on and ended smoothly, Kumiko picking herself back up. "Good job today. Please remember the parts I told you to work on. Dismissed."

Asuka and Natsuki saw Kumiko and how out of it she was. Natsuki walked up to Asuka.

"Asuka-senpai. Can you talk to Kumiko-chan about Reina? I need to talk to Reina about Kumiko. I'm worried for them."

Asuka nodded. "Yeah, me too. Don't worry, I'll talk to her."

…

"Kumiko." Asuka called out. The girl was putting her euphonium away.

"Hi babe." She went to kiss her, but Asuka stopped her.

"Not right now. Have you talked to Kousaka-san yet?"

Kumiko gulped. She didn't respond; she was too afraid to tell Asuka. She thought that she was supposed to support her.

"Kumiko. I was watching you during band. You weren't like yourself. You are always doing well, but you were off today. Don't hide it from me." Asuka had her serious expression.

"I thought you were here to support me! Not interrogate me!" Kumiko ran from the room. She hated that she wasn't being upfront with her feelings. But she didn't like that her girlfriend was putting so much pressure on her.

"Kumiko!" Asuka yelled out, but she didn't stop running. She got Kumiko's bag and started to run after her.

Kumiko didn't get very far. When Asuka saw her, she was sitting on the stairs and sobbing. She sat beside her and held her in her arms. 'I'm sorry' was being said by Kumiko while Asuka comforted her. "It's okay, Kumiko." She did everything to calm her down. Pat her back, kiss her head, rubbed her arm. It was working, and Kumiko's sobs were quieting. "Please, tell me what's happening."

"I'm so scared, Asuka. I don't want to lose her, but just being near her makes me remember…" She started to cry again, and Asuka was still there holding her.

"I know. I don't want you to lose her as well." Kumiko looked up, her eyes full of sadness but a small glimmer of hope. Asuka smiled. "You and Kousaka-san are still cute together. And I know. Friends can always forgive each other. You two are too close for something like this to get in the way of that."

Kumiko started to cry, but this time she was in a fit of happiness. Asuka was happy that Kumiko kept saying 'thank you.'

"You'll make up. I know it."

…

Reina looked shaken up, at least from Natsuki's perspective.

"Kousaka. Can I talk to you? Before you go?" Natsuki asked, startling Reina.

"Oh. Okay, Natsuki-senpai." Reina responded after recovering.

The two walked to a storage room beside the sinks.

"How are you doing?" Natsuki asked.

"I'm fi-"

"No, you are not fine." Natsuki interrupted Reina. "You haven't talked to Kumiko, right?"

Reina didn't want to be intimidated, but she couldn't help but be shy. "N-no."

Natsuki sighed. "I could tell. You weren't like yourself at practice." She leaned on the window. "Why haven't you said anything? You seemed so willing to go and make up. What happened to that passion?"

Reina was afraid to say why she didn't say anything to Kumiko. But, Natsuki had to know. She was the only person Reina could trust in. "I-I had a dream yesterday. It was just me and Kumiko on the bus. We made up, but it was the next part that scared me."

Natsuki's phone went off, most likely Yuuko asking where she was. But Reina was too important right now. She needed help. "What was it?"

"She leaned on me, as 'friends.' Then I kissed her on the head. I was afraid, but she said that she didn't mind it." Reina was shivering. "I don't know what to do! I don't like her that way!"

"Are you sure?" Natsuki went and looked Reina in the eye. "You do not like Kumiko in that way?"

"No...I don't..." Reina thought she was confident. She only saw Kumiko as a friend was what she thought. "I don't know." Reina started to cry and ran into Natsuki's arms. Natsuki couldn't believe what she was seeing. The normally calm and stoic Reina Kousaka…she was crying and was showing confusion and sadness.

Yuuko saw Natsuki's hair in the closet. "Natsuki…" Yuuko saw Reina crying in Natsuki's arms. "…What are you-"

"Yuuko, please." Natsuki showed off a side that Yuuko doesn't normally see around others. The compassionate and caring side. "I'll tell you later. If you want, just stay here with me. With Reina."

Yuuko's thoughts was making her out to be a terrible person. She judged her girlfriend wrongly. So, she did what felt right. Stay with Natsuki to help calm Reina down.

* * *

A/N: I talked a bit in SixRay's response, but I would like to know: would you like to see a side story of the six girls working at the coffee shop? I can make up a new short story with some various things that happen in the shop. If I see some reviews asking for it, I'll make one. However, don't expect to see it so soon. I have other ideas I want to work on, and I want to get this story a bit more ahead since I'm hitting a small writer's block.

I await your responses! Please say if you would like the short story of the girls in the coffee shop. Also, follow/favourite if you like this.

Thanks for Reading!


	13. Time To Think

Review Responses:

SixRay: Thanks for the response. For the second point, this arc will finish up in chapter 16. I didn't want them to have this problem during an extremely important time (Nationals, etc.), so I went with the club recruitment. Sorry for the long arc. And I'll be having more Asuka/Kumiko soon, since I wanted to get the Reina/Kumiko drama finished over a good amount of chapters.

Masane: Your error is right! The Reina mess will be over soon, don't worry too much. Also, I didn't think about doing that for the coffee shop. I might do that, seems convenient and interesting.

* * *

Natsuki and Yuuko couldn't leave Reina alone in her state, so they brought her to Natsuki's home. They had plans for today, but those were scrapped to help Reina.

While going to Natsuki's house, their walk was silent. Only Reina's sobs were heard as they both were trying all they could to comfort her. It was hopeless, but they felt that they helped Reina just a tiny bit.

At the entrance, Reina's sobs were still heard. However, she couldn't feel any tears, just the ones she had before. As they entered, Yuuko led Reina to the couch as Natsuki locked the door.

"Kousaka." Natsuki called out to her sad junior. "Yuuko doesn't know anything about what's happening. Can you tell her about it?" She asked. She didn't want to push Reina too hard, but having another person's opinion could help. She was somewhat happy that Reina nodded.

So, Reina explained her story as Yuuko listened intently. Natsuki already knew the story, but hearing it always made her sad. Two best friends, torn apart by love.

Reina finished her story, and Yuuko was streaming tears. Reina fell apart after and started to cry as she was being comforted by her two seniors.

"Reina, it's going to be okay." Yuuko tried to soothe Reina's nerves. It only seemed to work her up though.

"It won't, Yuuko-senpai! I hurt my best friend and now I don't know if my feelings are real. If they are, I would be betraying her trust. If I don't, it would feel too awkward." Reina told her bluntly. She didn't want encouragement. She just wanted to be Kumiko's friend again. "If I can't talk to her, nothing-"

"I talked to her yesterday." Natsuki's interruption stopped Reina's talking. She went silent as Natsuki kept going.

"I talked to her about you. She told me she was scared to talk to you."

"I'm scared, probably even more that she is!" Reina said loudly, interrupting Natsuki.

"I told her that, Reina." Natsuki stopped her before she could keep talking. Yuuko was surprised at how well Natsuki was handling this situation. "She seemed to understand. You both are scared that talking to each other will just cause more problems. With how you are right now, I might be right."

Reina could only nod her head. She felt Natsuki's arms wrap around her.

"You don't need to tell her now. Things will be awkward, yeah. But you two are in no shape to speak right now. Can you even play right?"

"Natsuki…" Yuuko said. She was thinking that Natsuki was getting too involved, especially to talk about Reina's trumpet playing.

Reina thought for a moment about saying no. That her playing is still fine. To shout it in Natsuki's face. But, she couldn't deny it. Natsuki was right. When she was playing today, it didn't feel right. It was the first time that trumpet playing felt foreign to her.

Reina shook her head. Yuuko was surprised that Reina gave in to Natsuki.

"It's okay. I'll tell Taki-sensei that you and Kumiko can't play on Friday. We still have people for those positions. Don't be afraid, Reina. Let your feelings out. Control your emotions. Then, talk to her."

Reina nodded. Natsuki's words were so comforting and right. She leaned on Yuuko, and the blonde patted her head.

' _Kumiko, I'm going to be your friend. We'll be back to how it was soon.'_

…

"Kumiko, are you okay?" Asuka asked her girlfriend. The two of them were walking back home.

"I-I think? Maybe…" Kumiko was still drained from this day. Being called by Taki-sensei, talking with Asuka…it was a lot to take in.

"I don't want to ask, but this is important." Asuka went in front of Kumiko, stopping the girl in her tracks. She grabbed Kumiko by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. "When are you going to talk to Kousaka-san?"

Kumiko looked down, but her face was brought up by two hands on her cheeks. "Kumiko, you can't keep pushing this aside. She's your friend, she's hurting as much as you do. Even more."

"I know!" Kumiko raised her voice, startling Asuka. "But, I can't talk to her now." Kumiko's phone buzzed. "Asuka, let me check my phone."

She sighed. "Fine, but you are not getting out of this. We need to talk."

"Okay." Kumiko took out her phone, which had a text from Natsuki.

Natsuki:  
 _I'm going to tell Taki-sensei that you can't perform on Friday.  
I've paid attention to you, you can't right now._

Kumiko saw this, and felt relief.

* * *

"Really? Are they sure they can't participate on Friday?" Taki-sensei asked Natsuki.

"Yes, sir. They have some personal issues they need to take care of." She responded.

"Alright. Will you be okay as the only euphonium player, Nakagawa-san?"

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

"And we have enough trumpets…okay. That should be fine. Give them my best wishes and tell them to continue to practice." Taki-sensei said before he turned back to keep working. Natsuki bowed and left the teacher's room.

Natsuki walked back to the music room. She saw the two girls, so she went to Reina first.

"Kousaka, I've told Taki-sensei that you can't play on Friday. You can leave if you want to." She saw Reina look at Kumiko's direction, who was talking to Asuka.

"No, it's okay. I will just watch, to not interrupt." Reina told her.

Natsuki sighed internally, but she nodded. "That's fine. I just need to go tell Kumiko."

"You're going to tell her?" Reina grabbed Natsuki's arm when the girl turned around.

"Reina," Natsuki took a hold of Reina's arm. "I've watched both of you. You aren't okay, either of you. I want you to take this time…to think. You two need to solve this in your own way, okay?" Natsuki said softly, which comforted Reina.

She nodded. "Okay, Natsuki-senpai."

"I'm going to tell Kumiko now, okay?" Reina nodded. Before she left her alone, she hugged the girl.

Natsuki started to walk over to Kumiko and Asuka.

"Hey, Natsuki-chan. Why were you hugging Reina?" Asuka asked.

"She-She just needed to talk to someone, someone to comfort her." Natsuki said. She saw how tense Kumiko got.

Kumiko was thinking about Natsuki's words. _'Reina needed someone to talk to, someone to comfort her. And I can't even be that person anymore.'_

"I told Taki-sensei. You guys can go wherever."

"Well, we still need to go to your workplace, Asuka." Kumiko said, finally getting out of her thoughts.

"Alright! Let's go then!" Asuka started to drag Kumiko to the exit, which brought a laugh out of Natsuki.

Before the two left the room, Kumiko looked at Reina. She hated it. How bad everything was between them.

' _I'm sorry, Reina.'_

Reina looked at Asuka and Kumiko leaving from the corner of her eye. She wanted them to go back to how it was, being friends. Best friends.

' _I'm sorry, Kumiko.'_

...

Reina did as she said. She stayed in her normal spot and watched the practice. Taki-sensei asked her if she was okay with just watching, where she just made an excuse. She was told to move from her spot so she didn't distract the band, which she did. She was left to listen to the band play and to think about her and Kumiko.

' _I need to put these feelings behind. The most important thing to do is to make up with Kumiko. I want her to be my friend still. But…can I even say anything to her while my head is all mixed up? I say I don't like her romantically, but that dream says otherwise. No, Reina. Ignore the dream, just focus on being friends.'_

"Reina?" Yuuko said. "You've been spaced out. Have you been thinking about Oumae-san?"

"Yes, I have." Reina sounded calm, but she was anything but.

Yuuko put a hand on Reina's shoulder. "Did you figure out anything?"

"…Maybe." Reina told her.


	14. Reconciliation

Review Responses:

SixRay: Thanks for the words! Hopefully, you'll like the way this arc ends as we'll be there soon.

Masane: Yeah, I was running out of steam when I kept writing. I wrote some other fics on the side, made me clear my head. Glad you liked it, though!

* * *

Kumiko and Asuka went home after going to Asuka's workplace. It was a quaint café, which Kumiko liked. When they were in there, the place wasn't as populated as Asuka said. Asuka told her there were a lot of regulars, and they greeted the ravenette.

The manager seemed very laid-back, and he happily accepted Kumiko's request to work there. The only people working there was Asuka, the manager, and one other girl.

Kumiko sat on the couch lazily, almost dozing off. She felt a finger poke her cheek.

"Don't sleep yet. It's only 4 o'clock." Asuka said, pouting. "Did you like the place?"

Kumiko nodded. "Yeah, I like how comforting it is. Do you think the others would get a job there as well?"

"Easily. You saw how cool the manager is, right?" Asuka said. "He's happy to have others work if they like it."

"That's good." Kumiko said as she turned on the TV. However, Asuka turned it off.

"Yeah, it is. But…did you get time to think?"

Kumiko didn't need to hear anything else to know what Asuka was talking about.

It lingered in her mind. She had to talk to Reina.

"Yeah…Yeah, I did."

* * *

The next day, the day after that. The two girls didn't talk to each other once, and it was evident. Taki-sensei informed the band about Kumiko and Reina not performing, with their consent to do so. Everyone wondered why, but it was clear that those two were the ones who had problems with each other.

Kumiko always was eager to leave with Asuka. However, no one really noticed that. The real focus was Reina.

Everyone knew Reina wasn't the easiest to talk to. However, she seemed more detached than usual. Yuuko and Natsuki were always watching her, and it was worrying them.

"Reina," Natsuki called out to her after a day of practice. The club recruiting was tomorrow, and the practice was much more intense. Not by much since it wasn't nationals.

Reina turned her head to see both Natsuki and Yuuko walking up to her. "Yes?"

"You can't avoid this for much longer." Yuuko told her. "You still haven't talked to her yet? I thought you had something to say."

Reina didn't look at the seniors. Yuuko was right. She had things to say, but she still hasn't made a move. "I haven't seen he-"

She felt her cheeks being cupped and her face was close to Natsuki's.

"When. Will. You. Talk. To. Her." Natsuki said, emphasizing every word to make it clear. Make it clear that Reina needed to talk to Kumiko. "I know you have, Reina. Don't say you haven't."

Reina hung her head in defeat. "Tomorrow." Reina said, her response was muffled by Natsuki's hands.

"You better." Natsuki let go of Reina. "This is getting ridiculous, and you know it."

Natsuki was right. Reina nodded her head.

* * *

Kumiko, feeling guilty, has been avoiding Reina for the week. It was Friday now, and she has always managed to avoid her.

Natsuki was not pleased.

"Kumiko, we need to talk."

Natsuki dragged Kumiko to the closet that she talked to Reina in.

"Umm, Natsuki-senpai? Don't you need to get ready?"

"So what if I do. There is something MUCH more important." Natsuki stared at Kumiko angrily.

And Kumiko had a strong feeling what Natsuki was talking about. "A-and that w-wou-"

"You KNOW what I'm talking about." Natsuki's eyes softened. "Kumiko, I hate seeing you two like this."

"I know, Natsuki-senpai."

"Well then…" Natsuki looked out and saw the plant. "You can…" Natsuki went behind Kumiko.

"Umm, Natsuki-senpai?"

"…talk to her now!" Kumiko felt Natsuki push her out of the closet. Her legs were moving on their own towards Natsuki's plant.

The plant being Reina.

"Reinaaaa!" Kumiko bumped into said girl, who caught her. She couldn't thank her properly for the catch. She couldn't even look Reina in the eye. "S-sorry, Reina."

Reina didn't expect anything to happen. At least, not this.

…

 _Before that…_

"Reina, you're going to tell her today. Right?" Yuuko asked her. They were preparing the things for the club recruitment.

"Yes. At least, what I know." Reina said.

Yuuko was happy for her friend. She was also happy that Reina didn't ask about Natsuki's euphonium. They planned to make sure the two girls talk today.

"Good. I just need you to help me with some more stuff. Just wait out there, please." Yuuko said innocently. Reina nodded and moved to the said location.

…

 _Going to now…_

Reina started to blush. She knew they had to talk, however her feelings about Kumiko were still messed up.

"K-Kumiko. Can-Can we talk?"

Kumiko now started to blush. "S-sure."

…

They went outside, close to the place Kumiko practices. The air was cool, however it was tense. The two of them have not talked since Saturday, so it's almost been an entire week.

The two girls were standing still, but they weren't looking at each other. They looked at the ground; they couldn't look at each other.

"Kumiko." Kumiko's head sprung up from hearing her name. "I still want to be friends. I hate this distance between us."

"Reina…" Kumiko started to walk towards her. "I hate it too."

"I'm so sorry for not noticing your feelings. I know you don't want an apology, but it wouldn't feel right. I made you suffer for so long, I don't even know if we could still be friends because of it."

Kumiko grabbed Reina's shoulders and stood her up so they were looking face to face. Kumiko had tears in her eyes, as did Reina. "Don't be silly. I want it to be like it was before. But…without all of the drama. My feelings drifted away, and I found someone to love. Maybe…you'll find someone too. And whoever it is, I'll support you."

Reina…hated hearing that.

"So, can we still be friends?" Reina asked.

"Of course!" Kumiko said happily. "Is it okay to hug?"

Reina nodded, and she leapt into Kumiko's arms. She started to cry.

"Hey, calm down! I'm happy too, I never wanted to drift apart."

However, Kumiko didn't know Reina's true feelings. The real reason she was crying.

 _'Her feelings changed from me to Asuka-senpai. She says she'll support me in finding someone. I told myself and Natsuki-senpai that I will focus on anything else but love. But…my feelings for Kumiko…I don't want to accept it. I won't accept it. I don't like Kumiko.'_

However, just feeling Kumiko's touch and warmth. The comforting…smell of Kumiko. She was loving everything about her. And she hated herself for feeling this way.

 _'I keep saying that I don't like Kumiko. But…The way I feel right now. It's like the way I saw Taki-sensei, but…it's more intense. I don't like Kumiko._

 _'I think I'm in love with her.'_


	15. I've Always Loved Her

Review Responses:

SixRay: Glad you liked it! Thanks for the P.S. message. I'm definitely getting burned out on this story, even though I love it. So, I've put my creative juices for other stories, which are usually one-shots for Love Live.

I have a feeling that this story might start to time skip, to be honest. I've been trying to think about what other arcs there could be other than the big Reina arc, but nothing was really coming to mind. I'm thinking that the chapters following chapter 16 will be somewhat like a one-shot. If that disappoints you, I'm sorry. However, I think this story has ran most of it's course revolving around school. I'll be going through Nationals and other important events that were in the anime, so maybe that gives you some joy.

Masane: It's funny, I just made the chapter names on the day I uploaded the last chapter. So, I had to think of a title for 14+ chapters. Which took "a lot" of time. But, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.

* * *

The club recruitment day went by fast. When Reina and Kumiko apologized, the activities started, so they rushed to the band. They watched everyone play well, and there were many people that were interested.

The band started to put everything away, and Kumiko and Reina were helping as well. Asuka was also there, who was assisting everyone.

"Reina, do you want to go home together? Asuka and I would love your company." Kumiko asked. She was very excited since the two girls finally made up. So, she wanted to catch up with her friend.

"Sorry, Kumiko. I have something to do after."

"Oh." Kumiko was saddened at hearing this, but she understood her friend. "Well, we can go home later. We have to catch up next week! I've missed talking to you."

Reina's eyes widened, seeing how much Kumiko still cared even after all of their issues. "Sorry, Kumiko. I hope you understand."

"Of course I do. Like we said, we need to support each other, right?" Kumiko said with a smile.

Reina saw the warm smile and her heart fluttered. After her realization, she couldn't see Kumiko in the same way. "R-Right."

…

Reina was waiting outside of the band room.

"Kousaka? Why are you here?" Natsuki asked.

"Did you get to make up with Oumae-chan?" Yuuko asked. They received a nod. "Why do you look so sad?"

"I'm in love with Kumiko."

The words escaped Reina's lips, and it lingered between the couple. When they came to the realization, they embraced the raven-haired girl, who started to cry.

"Do you want to come over?" Natsuki asked. She felt a subtle nod from Reina. "Okay, we'll go when you've calmed down a bit, okay?"

Reina sniffled, but she nodded.

…

They got to Natsuki's home, and Reina was guided to the couch by Yuuko. The blonde let Reina rest her head on her lap as Yuuko patted the girl's head. Natsuki went to her kitchen and came to the two of them with water.

"You feeling any better?" Natsuki asked while handing over the glass.

"A bit." Reina quickly responded as she took a swig of the water. She drank it too fast and she started to cough.

"Hey, slow down." Yuuko was patting Reina's back. "Can you tell us what happened? It went well, right?"

"Yes." Reina nodded. "We made up, and I was really happy. But, just thinking about Kumiko. It made me realize how much I love her, and not just as a friend."

"What were you thinking about? When you thought about Kumiko?" Natsuki asked. The worst thing that could have happened did, and now she had to help Reina through this.

Reina took a lot of time to process Natsuki's question.

In middle school, the two of them had a falling out of some sorts. Their minds were in two places; Kumiko was the realistic thinker while Reina strived to be the best. Not advancing to nationals impacted Reina a lot, but Kumiko didn't really mind. She got very upset with Kumiko, but overtime, she came to accept it. They didn't talk since then, up until the start of high school.

Seeing Kumiko didn't really impact Reina too much. Their middle school past was behind Reina, and she decided to make herself 'special.' She strived to be the best at the trumpet, and she proved it. Getting the solo over her senior let Reina advance, and getting to nationals made Reina's goal become even more realistic. However, all of this traced back to one thing. One person.

Kumiko.

After everything about middle school was put to rest, the two of them became best friends again. They were almost always open with each other when they needed to. For the solo, Kumiko was the only person that was truly behind Reina. She said she would look like the villain, but Kumiko said she would be right there with her. When it came to Taki-sensei, Reina told Kumiko everything. The reason she came to the school: Taki-sensei. She always wanted Taki-sensei, as she 'loved' him. However, that love caused a huge ripple in their friendship.

Her mind wandered to the past week of torture, starting from Saturday. When Kumiko told her everything; loving Reina, being hurt by Reina, almost breaking apart because of everything. It took a while, but they did make up, which brings her to now.

Why does she love Kumiko? Is it in pity? Maybe a bit; she caused much pain to the person she cares about the most, so maybe her emotions want to show forgiveness by shifting Reina's love to Kumiko. However, it wasn't likely. She thought about it even more.

And she realized.

"I've-I've always loved Kumiko." She said aloud, causing the other girls' eyes to widen.

Reina was a person that kept a calm appearance, however she was a mess. The only thing that kept her steady was Kumiko. Thinking back to her and Taki-sensei, she didn't really have the same feelings towards him as she does for Kumiko. Her love for Taki-sensei was one of admiration. It was just a phase, a girl infatuated by the person she grew up close to. With Kumiko, it was a different story.

Looking past the fact that Reina rubbed in Taki-sensei's superiority over Kumiko, the two girls were always able to talk. To be honest with each other. They joked and laughed, but they could also get serious. At the auditorium for the reaudition, Reina remembered what Kumiko told her.

" _This is a confession of love, after all."_

A confession of love. Reina never saw past this other than being best friends, but Kumiko meant it as the real thing. They always were touchy, more than 'best friends' should have been. Always cupping each other's cheeks, putting their faces closer together. Their contact was plentiful, but it was enjoyable. Kumiko meant it as a loving action, and now…

' _I want it to be as well.'_

Just thinking about it made heat rise to her cheeks. She was longing for Kumiko's touch. And now, she couldn't do this as casually anymore. Her feelings were real, and they were feelings of love. When she thought about their faces being close together, she wanted to kiss them.

"When you mean, 'Always loved Kumiko,' you mean as a friend, right?" Natsuki asked. The couple were shocked to hear Reina say 'love' as seriously as she did. So, they took it as love equalling a strong liking, just as friends.

However, they were in disbelief when Reina shook her head.

"No, I've loved Kumiko. I **love** Kumiko. I've never acknowledged my feelings for her as 'love,' but I realize that I love her in a different way I 'loved' Taki-sensei. She's always been the person that I couldn't see my future without." Reina's words just kept running from her mouth. Saying it aloud confirmed her feelings. "I have to tell her-"

"NO!" Natsuki said at the top of her lungs, startling Reina and Yuuko. "You can't Reina!" Natsuki took Reina's shoulders. "Don't you remember what I said?! If you start to love Kumiko, you're going to have to keep it bottled up. If you tell her, this entire week is going to happen again! You don't want that, Kumiko wouldn't want that, no one wants that to happen!"

"Natsuki…" Yuuko tried to stop Natsuki from berating Reina further, but her girlfriend was only speaking the truth.

"Don't stop me, Yuuko! Reina needs to know this!" Natsuki said to her girlfriend before turning her attention back to Reina. She could see tears welting up in Reina's eyes, but this was something she had to know. "I know you aren't happy, but Kumiko is the happiest she could be right now. Asuka loves her, and she has her best friend back. But that's all you can be, her **best friend**. You're hurting, but imagine how Kumiko felt for that entire year. We're going to help you cope with this, but you have to know. Kumiko will **NEVER** be yours."

Everything that Natsuki needed to say was out there. She was still holding Reina's shoulders, but she could tell Reina would take a while to accept this. Reina started to cry again, and she put her head on Natsuki's chest. Reina's tears were staining Natsuki's uniform, however she let it go.

Natsuki started to pat Reina's head. "It's going to be okay. We'll get through this."


	16. Making Up

Review Responses:

Panda2501: I can see where you are coming from. Their relationship just started and everything. However, I saw it in two parts.

1\. Kumiko was never afraid to compare her body to others. When I was writing and read some fics, she has been pretty perverted. So, she would be super sexual.

2\. The two of them have loved each other for a year. So, I feel that they were both willing to take a step.

And to be honest, I just wanted to write a smut fic. And these two felt like the best ones to do it.

And for the second half, I will have more focus on Asuka/Kumiko. However, I am planning something with Reina. Just you wait.

Masane: Yeah. I never meant it, but Natsuki just felt like the best straight-man. I like her character in the anime a lot; being somewhat serious while being a fun person. Glad you liked it!

* * *

Asuka and Kumiko were walking back home, hand-in-hand. Asuka looked over to Kumiko, who was frowning.

"Hey, why the sad face?" Asuka asked. "Was work too tough on you?"

Kumiko shook her head. "No, work is actually pretty fun, especially with everyone there. Since there's so many of us, we can cover each other. But, that's the problem."

"Taking a full day of break is a problem?" Asuka questioned.

"Not like that. I would want to take a day off, but you've seen me there all of the time." Asuka nodded at Kumiko's statement. "I don't take that day off unless one of two things happen: you and I have a date night, or I can walk home with Reina."

"So I'm not good enough?" Asuka teased. However, she quickly regretted it when Kumiko gave her the infamous death glare. "J-Just kidding," she said before she gulped. "That is true though. We haven't had a date night yet, so we'll get one soon. But, about Kousaka-san…?"

"Anytime I ask her to walk home with me, she always declines it. We made up, but it feels like she's further away from me. Even more than last week."

"Really?" Asuka had an assumption. A big one.

* * *

There were a handful of new students that showed up to join band, so Natsuki, Yuuko, and Asuka were the ones to introduce them. Most of the new students were very excited, and after the introductions, they went around to the different sections. Many flocked to the trumpets and percussion sections, so it gave Asuka the perfect time to ask.

"Hey, Natsuki-chan." Asuka nudged the vice-president.

"Hmm? Asuka-senpai?" Natsuki was about to shrug off the call, but she saw Kumiko handling the brass section well. "What's up?"

"You've talked to Kousaka-san, right?"

"Umm, yeah? Is there anything wrong about it?" Natsuki asked, not trying to anger her senior. She was genuinely confused as to why Asuka needed to know about them talking to each other.

"So, you must know about their little argument." Asuka said.

"I think _little_ is a bit of an understatement." Natsuki quipped back.

"That's not the point. Kumiko told me that they made up, but they haven't had some alone time. I would allow it, but it doesn't seem like Kousaka-san is obliging." Asuka started to lean in closer to Natsuki's face, making the third-year shiver in nervousness.

"I-Is that s-so…" Natsuki looked over to Yuuko, who was looking at her while the juniors were talking to the other trumpeters. Her girlfriend was looking at them suspiciously, however her expression changed to worry when Natsuki mothed 'Help Me.'

"I have a _small_ idea as to why she is like this. I just want some confirmation." Asuka wasn't holding back punches. She wanted to know if what she was thinking was true.

"I…She…Well…" Natsuki was fumbling on her words, waiting for a saviour. And she got one when Yuuko came to her side.

"Tananka-senpai, may I ask why you're really close to my girlfriend?" Yuuko asked, trying to sound like the leader she is. However, Asuka quickly turned her attention to the ribbon wearing girl, which intimidated the blonde.

"I think you've talked to Kousaka-san as well, isn't that right Yuuko-chan?" Asuka said with an intimidating glare.

Yuuko turned an eye to look at her girlfriend, however Natsuki was as scared for Yuuko as she was for herself. Asuka didn't need to say anything else to make Yuuko know what she was talking about. "M-Maybe…"

"Kumiko!" Asuka's tone suddenly became a happy one. "You can handle the newbies, right?"

Kumiko sighed at her girlfriend. "You shouldn't say that right in front of them. But, yes. You need to go somewhere?"

Asuka nodded. "I just need to take these two lovebirds here for something." Asuka hooked a finger into each of their shirts, making sure they couldn't run away.

"Alright. Love you." Kumiko said before turning her attention to the juniors. Asuka was amused that the new students started to ask about their relationship and the president and vice-president. However, that face quickly changed to deathly serious as she started to pull the two girls outside to the closet.

"I didn't mean to get so angry." Asuka apologized to the two girls.

"Are you sure? You seemed like you wanted to murder me there." Natsuki said, a bit loud.

"Sorry. But I was being serious." Asuka's tone quickly changed to one of concern. "Kousaka-san likes Kumiko, doesn't she?"

The couple looked at each other, basically reading their minds.

' _She already knows, we can't hide this from her.'_

"Yes," Natsuki told her senior. "Reina-chan does like Kumiko."

Asuka sucked in a big breath. _'I knew it.'_ "Well, that's not ideal."

"Is that all you can say?" Yuuko asked. "This is a pretty big deal."

"I can't think of anything else." Asuka told the two girls. "They have to deal with this by themselves. We already interfered with them making up."

"I already told Reina-chan. She can't tell her. Their friendship would be ruined again." Natsuki told her senior, but soon stopped when Asuka looked at her with an irritated expression.

"That's the WORST thing to do. Don't you remember how Kumiko was when she had an unrequited love? That was a whole year!" Asuka said. "If she doesn't tell her, that's going to cause more troubles. You don't want that, do you?"

The two girls looked down. Asuka was right, there was no reason to make Reina suffer like Kumiko did.

"Then, what do we do?" Yuuko asked Asuka.

"I think I have a plan. And I'll need your help."

…

"Umm, Kousaka-senpai?" Reina looked to the girl who was at the trumpet section.

"Yes?"

"You've been staring at something for a while, but I really wanted to ask you something." The student responded.

"I was?" Reina didn't realize that her attention was all on Kumiko. Her mind was plagued by her newfound emotions for her best friend. She saw how well Kumiko was taking care of the new students and thought that she would be good with kids. _'I have been staring at her.'_

"Yeah, over there. At the bass section." That just further confirmed Reina's state and how she was definitely staring at Kumiko.

"Sorry for not paying attention." She bowed to the girl. "What is your name?"

The girl started to blush. "Hirai Mai. I'm also a trumpet player. I played in my middle school. I'm…a bit of a fan. I saw you at last year's nationals, and your solo was really cool."

"Thank you, Mai-san." Reina put out a hand, which Mai graciously accepted.

"It's okay. I just have some questions about being better at trumpet playing."

Reina smiled. "That sounds good-"

Reina was interrupted by the three people of power: Asuka, Natsuki, and Yuuko. They barged in, looking a bit panicked.

Asuka looked at Reina and Kumiko. "You two, come with us."

Kumiko excused herself from the group of juniors. Reina had an apologetic face when she turned to Mai. "Sorry, Mai-san."

"It's okay! They're your seniors, you should listen to them."

Reina smiled at Mai, who smiled back as she left.

…

The walk outside was uncomfortable for both Kumiko and Reina.

Reina's thoughts were clouded by Kumiko, and she couldn't look at her without being disappointed in herself.

Kumiko was upset with Reina because they never did anything past making up. They reconciled, but they never got to talk past that.

"What is this about?" Kumiko asked, irritated. She was enjoying herself with guiding the juniors.

"Kousaka." Asuka said, making Reina's head perk up. "Kumiko has told me that you have been basically avoiding her ever since you guys made up."

"Yeah!" Kumiko said ignorantly. She turned to Reina, somewhat angry at her friend.

"However, I understand." Asuka added before Kumiko made a fool of herself.

"Huh?" Kumiko looked confusedly to her girlfriend.

"Reina, I was wrong." Natsuki went up to the trumpeter. "You have to tell her. Or else, it's going to end up the same, with one of you getting hurt."

Reina couldn't look at Natsuki or Yuuko, but she nodded.

"Reina? What do you have to tell me?"

Natsuki and Yuuko moved over so Reina could face Kumiko. They were waiting for Reina's answer. Instead, they were surprised when Reina suddenly hugged her best friend.

"R-Reina?!" Kumiko jumped at the contact. She felt her uniform becoming damp. "Hey, you're crying…What's wrong?"

"I LOVE YOU, KUMIKO!"

The words echoed in Kumiko's mind. It was the words that she wanted to hear, but not right now. She wanted to hear them last year, but she had Asuka now.

"I realized how much of a fool I was. I admired Taki-sensei, but it wasn't what I had with you. I always loved you, but I just didn't see it. And when you told me everything that you experienced last year…It just made me realize that there was only one person I truly love. And it was you."

Reina struggled at the end of her small speech, but she powered through to tell Kumiko her feelings.

"R-Reina…" Kumiko let everything that Reina said sink in. She loved her, and not just as friends. She remembered how she wanted to see Reina suffer for all the pain she had to deal with for the past year. Right now, she only felt sympathy since she went through the same feelings. "I'm…I'm sorry. I would have accepted your feelings last year, but…I can't now. I have Asuka."

"I know." Reina sniffled. "I know…But you had to know. I feel awful for the past year of torture I put you through. And now, I have to deal with it…" Reina started to cry into Kumiko's shoulder.

"I don't want to lose you." Kumiko held Reina by the shoulders firmly. "I can't accept your feelings, but I still want you to be my friend. My best friend." Kumiko's eyes started to stream tears. "Can you promise me that? That we'll still be friends?"

Reina felt a bit disheartened, but she nodded. She didn't expect anything, especially Kumiko's romantic love. She was sad, but content with being Kumiko's friend. "I promise." The two hugged, with the three other girls watching them, happy.

However, Reina wanted one thing. "Tanaka-senpai, can I do one thing to Kumiko?"

Asuka heard the request, but was skeptical. "Nothing explicit. That's for me only."

Reina smiled at her senior. "Okay." She kissed Kumiko on the cheek, which surprised the brunette. "I will get over you, Kumiko. But I promise, I'll never leave your side."

Kumiko held the kissed cheek, and smiled at her friend. "Good. I wouldn't want it any other way." They hugged again, which got some claps from the seniors.

"Well, we can't leave the juniors alone. Let's go back." Yuuko told the four other girls. Yuuko and Natsuki held hands back to the bad room. Kumiko and Asuka also held hands. Reina felt left out. She still harboured feelings for Kumiko, but she planned to get over them. She was still lonely and felt left out since she didn't have anyone to be with. However, she saw a hand extended out to her.

"We can still be good friends, Reina. Best friends. You'll just have to share with Asuka." Kumiko smiled at her. Reina took the hand with a smile on her face. She was happy that she was able to be like this with Kumiko.

"Hey, she's mostly mine, Kousaka-san!" Asuka playfully said to Reina, however there was a bit of a serious tone to it.

"Of course, Tanaka-san."

…

"Kousaka-san, you're back!" Mai saw the ravenette coming back after she hugged Kumiko and Asuka. "What did you have to talk about? It must have been serious."

Reina smiled at Mai's enthusiasm. "It was. Have you been in love before, Mai-san?"

"Not yet…although I hope it happens during high school." Mai answered.

Reina softly laughed. "Well, it was about that. I'm in love with Oumae-chan, but it's unrequited." Reina was thankful that they allowed her to talk about her feelings about Kumiko.

"That must suck." Mai said.

Reina shook her head. "She loved me for an entire year, and yet I didn't see it until right now. She's had an unrequited love for an entire year. I guess it's just karma."

"Oh. I think you'll find someone, Kousaka-san!" Mai said, her enthusiasm still evident in her voice.

"Thanks, Mai-san. Now, what did you have to ask me?"


	17. Date Night

Review Responses:

Panda2501: Glad you enjoyed the chapter. If you could, what are you missing? You said that you didn't get enough from my explanation (I assume), so I would like to know what you didn't agree with.

SixRay: It's all good, I'm just glad you read them. I'm thinking about the coffee shop one-shot, however I am running a bit low on ideas (that's why I've been making one-shots for Love Live). I think this story is going to wrap up in about 6-10 chapters, but you never know. I think that after chapter 19, we're going to have a bunch of time skips. Going to things like the summer practice/vacation, birthdays, and nationals. I hope that will be okay with all the readers, because school is going to start for me in September, and I want to have the summer to finish everything.

Masane: For Mai's name, I got lazy. Gonna be honest. I wanted to get a cool name, but it turned to that. I can't even remember what it means (if you want, you can tell me what it means. I really can't remember). I'm probably not going to have many other new characters. And I guess you can say she's a fan of Reina...and you will definitely see her later. Glad you like the chapter!

* * *

Things settled down. The whole 'Reina/Kumiko' saga was done, and the girls finally reconciled. Something that helped Kumiko through the entire ordeal was the loving support of Asuka.

"We haven't done anything for the past week!"

Or so Kumiko thought. She and Asuka were at home after work, both doing their homework.

"I know that this whole 'Reina' thing was what you had to deal with…" Asuka started to crawl over to Kumiko. "…But I missed you." Asuka kissed her on the cheek, smile on her face.

"I never left you, though." Kumiko defended herself.

Asuka pouted and turned away. "It felt like you did."

Kumiko went up and hugged Asuka from behind. She planted kisses on the girl's cheek and placed her head on Asuka's shoulder. "Well, I'm sorry babe. What should we do?"

"Let's have a date," Asuka proposed.

"Well, that sounds nice. What should we do?"

"It's all up to you."

Kumiko groaned. "I have to plan ALL of it?"

Asuka, being the tricky girl she was, started to play with her girlfriend. She stood up, which surprised Kumiko, and started to walk to the door. "I guess…you just don't want to do it, right?" Asuka turned to Kumiko and feigned a sad expression before turning away and walking to the kitchen.

Kumiko saw this and her eyes widened. _'Holy shit, I must be a horrible girlfriend.'_ She ran up to Asuka and hugged her back tightly. "No, I'm sorry. It's me just being lazy. I have been a shitty girlfriend for this past week, not being fully there for you. I'll make the date, and it's going to be so fun."

Asuka turned around and kissed Kumiko's nose. "Thanks then. Although, I was just playing with you." Asuka sweetly smiled before heading to the kitchen a second time.

Unbeknownst to Kumiko, Asuka enjoyed being the comforting girlfriend. If Kumiko wanted to talk, cry, or…well, usually talk, Asuka would be right there for her. And she liked how she was able to give her input on the whole situation. She felt like a mother, but she knew that their love was so much closer than that. It was two friends being a shoulder to cry on, knowing that they would always have each other's backs. And she loved every second of it.

Kumiko stood dumbfounded. _'So…I wasn't being a horrible girlfriend? She…Damn it, Asuka!'_ Kumiko laughed internally. _'Oh, this date will be the best one yet!'_

* * *

Kumiko was sat in her desk at lunch, groaning and face flat on her desk. _'What. The. Fuck. Can. We. Do.'_ She wanted to have a great date. However, planning it on such short notice wasn't the easiest thing to do.

"Kumiko-chan, you look like you're about to die." Hazuki said to her friend.

"I think I am, to be honest," Kumiko responded. "How do you plan the perfect date in a day?"

Both Midori and Hazuki started to whisper to each other, brainstorming ways to think of a date. When Kumiko looked up from her desk, she saw her black-haired friend with a girl behind her. "Reina."

"Let's eat together, as friends." Reina smiled at the Kumiko. She smiled back.

"Okay. Midori-chan, Hazuki-chan. I'm going to have lunch with Reina."

Midori spoke up, making Kumiko know her response to the obvious question of:

"What about your date with Asuka-senpai?"

' _Well, that is much different from 'Can we come with you?''_

Kumiko chuckled and scratched the back of her head. "I'll…I'll figure it out, don't worry about it." Kumiko saw Hazuki wanting to say something. "And no."

Hazuki crossed her arms. "Jeez, Kumiko. You're so mean." The three of them laughed before seeing Kumiko off.

Kumiko got her lunch and started to walk out with Reina. Although, the girl who was with Reina before was keeping her distance from the two.

"Umm, Reina? What is your friend doing?" Kumiko asked.

"Huh?" Reina looked back to see Mai walking steadily behind them. "Mai-chan, what are you doing?"

Mai jolted up from hearing her name called. "I-I was…you know…"

Reina went up to the flustered girl and took her by the sleeve. "You don't have to be so awkward around me. Or Kumiko."

Kumiko laughed. "You're one to talk, Reina." She stopped after seeing Reina glare at her.

Mai still felt like the odd one out. "Oumae-senpai. Is it true that you both liked each other?"

The two girls stood frozen. Yeah, they made up. But, that was still fresh in their minds. They couldn't deal with that too soon; they had to ease back into being friends to turn to best friends. This girl threw a wrench into the whole situation.

Reina sighed in disappointment.

"You're coming with us," Kumiko said, her murderous tone seeping out a bit. Mai didn't know why she asked that, and she was somewhat happy that she was getting an answer.

However, seeing her senior looking ready to kill made her think that it wasn't worth it.

...

The three of them went out to the usual place to talk, sitting on the grass since it was still a nice spring atmosphere.

"So, I'm guessing Reina told you about…our history." Kumiko started off as the three girls ate. Mai was too afraid to take a bite though.

"N-Not everything! Just that you liked Kousaka-senpai for a year and that she likes you." Mai looked down, not wanting to meet any of her senior's gazes.

Kumiko sighed. "Well, that is true." Kumiko went over to Mai and pushed her head up so that they were eye-to-eye. "Why did you need to ask?"

"C-curious…" Mai didn't even say a sentence, just one word.

"Hey, lighten up. We're not mad." Kumiko said, getting a glare from Reina. "Okay, well Reina's not mad. I am a bit."

"Sorry, Oumae-senpai." Mai looked down in embarrassment.

"Hey, it's okay. Just…wait for a bit if you want to talk about it. Please?" Kumiko put her hands together and bowed to the younger girl.

"O-Okay!" Mai said.

Reina smiled at the two girls. She took a bit to look at Mai, as she never did see her past being her junior.

She had shoulder-length black hair. She was around Midori's height, so she was short. However, she would probably grow more than Midori did. She wasn't too curvaceous, only having a modest chest size. Reina could only think of one way to see Mai. Cute.

Reina turned her attention to Kumiko, who was lying on the grass and sighed. "Well, if we're done talking about that, I need to think about…" Kumiko stopped talking, thinking that talking about Asuka would be a bit insensitive.

"Your date with Tanaka-senpai?" Reina asked.

"Well, I couldn't avoid that, huh? Yeah, I said that I needed to make this date amazing after neglecting her the past week."

Reina tensed up from hearing that. _'So…they weren't so close because of me? It's my fault.'_

"Hey, Reina." Said girl turned her attention to Kumiko. "Asuka said to call her by her name, no last name nonsense."

"Oh! That's pretty cool!" Mai said enthusiastically. She brought out a laugh from Kumiko.

"Okay," Reina said.

"Oh, and I know how you think, Reina." Kumiko said. "It's not all your fault, it's both of ours." Reina heard this and blushed.

' _Kumiko is always so thoughtful of everyone. I can't believe I hurt her. I will never hurt her again. She doesn't deserve that.'_

"Thanks." Reina finally said. "Anyways, what did you want to do for your date?"

Kumiko sighed. "I don't know. I said it's going to be the best date, but when you can't think of anything to do…well, it's not going to end well."

"How much do you know about her?" Mai asked.

Kumiko sat up, wanting to speak her mind that the two of them knew everything. When she thought about it more…

' _I know nothing about Asuka.'_

"N-Not…Not that much…" Kumiko said, her mind was stumped.

' _Why did I fall for Asuka? Her eagerness, lovable personality, fantastic euphonium playing, sexy figure…_

' _Don't think about that, idiot! I fell for her because she could trust me. She told me about her life, and I felt happy. But…I never really got to know her past that. I know her history, and I know her emotionally and physically._

' _But, I have no idea about what she likes. Her hobbies, interests, dislikes.'_

"What should I do?!" Kumiko stood up and paced back and forth. "I don't know what she likes! How can I even think about a perfect date when I can't even say what her favourite food is?!"

"Oumae-san!" Mai stood up and said, making Kumiko get out of her trance. "You should get to know her."

Kumiko's shoulders drooped. She went over and patted Mai on the head. "Don't you think that's obvious, Mai-san?"

Reina stood up and hit Kumiko on the arm. "Hey, she's trying to help. Don't be rude."

"Sorry." Kumiko bowed to the two trumpet players. "How would I do that, Mai-san? Get to know her?"

…

Asuka and Kumiko just left the café, thankful for their friends covering for them. The manager fully supported this line of thinking. The café was a small place, so not many customers came. If they did, it would be a small burst of business, then it would die down after a bit. Because of this, the manager liked this idea of having four girls work while two took a day off. It let them have time to relax, and they were still students so they had work to do.

"Ahh! The manager is so awesome!" Asuka exclaimed. "She's the best, no one would let us do this except her."

"Yeah." Asuka turned her head to Kumiko, who looked very worried.

"Kumiko? What's wrong?" Asuka's concerned face turned into one of a smug smile. "Are you nervous about our date?"

"Yes." Kumiko answered bluntly, surprising her girlfriend.

' _She's usually one to talk back. Why is she so tense now?'_

"Asuka," Kumiko said as she squeezed the hand she was holding. "How much do you know about me?"

Asuka looked at her girlfriend with a puzzled expression. "Enough? How do you want me to answer that? We're dating, we'll learn about each other. Right?"

"What's my favourite colour?"

"Umm…blue?"

"Lime green. Favourite food?"

Asuka nervously laughed. "Don't you like everything?"

Kumiko blushed. "I-Ignore that one. Favourite animal?"

"What the hell? I don't know, cat?" Asuka was getting irritated at these stupid, irrelevant questions.

"It's a hamster."

"Kumiko, I don't know what this has-"

"When is my birthday?"

"…" ' _Fuck.'_

"I don't even know when yours is! We know nothing about each other, be it small things or otherwise!"

"Hey, calm down." Asuka hugged Kumiko. She felt some tears on her shirt. _'She's really hurt about this. And I didn't even give it a second thought.'_ Asuka started to pet Kumiko's hair, which she learned the brunette liked for comfort. "You're right, we know jack shit about each other."

Kumiko looked up and saw a smile on Asuka's face. "Asuka…"

"We have all of this time to ourselves. We have some homework to do, but we can leave that for later. What do you want to do for our date?"

"I asked anyone if they could help. Only Reina's friend had a somewhat useable idea." Kumiko told her girlfriend.

Asuka had a small piece of jealousy stuck in her; hearing Reina's name made her shaken. She hated being like this; Reina already said she would move on and just be Kumiko's friend, and she has seen how much Kumiko didn't want this relationship to end. It was one thing that she had to be better at.

"What's the idea?"

…

The table was set with a small candle and the cutlery and plates were set up nicely.

There was a small side table that was holding the food that the two girls were eating.

Pizza, breadsticks, spaghetti, and a large cookie.

"Well, this is romantic." Asuka said, sarcasm oozing from her voice.

"Hey, we're still saving for the trip, remember?" Kumiko pointed a breadstick at her girlfriend before she took a big bite of it.

The two girls were at home, having a 'romantic' dinner.

"I know. I just expected something…more. Something not called Pizza Hut." Asuka said as she stuffed her face with a forkful of spaghetti.

Kumiko laughed. "You're so charming, I want to kiss you right now."

Asuka lightly kicked Kumiko on her leg. "Thank you."

"And as for the choice, everything for 435 yen? Good deal if you ask me."

"Always looking to be so extravagant, aren't ya?"

The two girls laughed, enjoying the company of each other. It was nice to have it be just them two, no drama or people in the way.

"Well, I do like this," Asuka confessed. "It's nice to just be eating with my loving girlfriend." Asuka smiled at Kumiko, who blushed at the praise.

"Yeah," Kumiko said. "I really like this. I want to do this again sometime."

"Me too."

The two kept eating, being flirty by feeding each other. It didn't look cute since what they were feeding each other was Pizza Hut, but they found it enjoyable.

"We still have to learn about each other." Kumiko said after they were nearing the end of the meal. A measly cookie wouldn't phase Kumiko, so she got a bit more of it.

"Okay then. What should we start with?" Asuka asked.

"Well, birthdays." Kumiko still remembered that last part of their conversation and how they couldn't answer that question. "Mine is in August, on the 21st."

"Wow, we are in two different seasons. Mine is…on Christmas…" Asuka said, her voice starting to trail off.

"Oh, that's really…interest- Wait, Christmas?!" Kumiko exclaimed. Asuka was expecting some sort of reaction similar to this. "How do we plan for that?! Should it be Christmas themed?"

Asuka stood up and held Kumiko in place by the girl's shoulder. "Stop. We can worry about that later when the time comes. For now, let's not worry about birthdays since they're so far away. Why don't we keep talking and learning about each other?"

"R-Right." Kumiko seemed to calm down from hearing Asuka's warm words, so they took their seats. Asuka took a bite of the cookie, but cringed at how sweet it was.

Kumiko laughed at the reaction. "You don't like the dessert? I think it's excellent."

Asuka sighed. "You like to eat everything. Besides, I would rather eat dark chocolate than milk chocolate."

"Really?" Kumiko made a mental note. "So you don't like sweet things. How do you like me then?" Kumiko grinned.

She got the right expression out of Asuka, which was a loud groan. "You are SUCH a dork."

"And you still love me, deal with it." Kumiko smiled. "And I don't like eating everything. I have my limits."

Asuka perked up. "Oh? What would that be?"

"…Well…" Kumiko blushed and turned away from Asuka out of embarrassment. "Okay, maybe you're right."

"Aww, my little girlfriend is a food fanatic." Asuka said in a teasing tone. She stood by Kumiko and started to poke her, causing laughs to come from Kumiko.

"Sh-Shut up!" Kumiko exclaimed out of laughter. She was being tickled, and she could barely breathe with how much she was laughing. With all of her might, she grabbed Asuka by the wrists and planted a long kiss on Asuka's lips. She felt Asuka melting into the kiss, and their kiss started to get more intense. Their tongues started to play with each other as hands started to grope different places.

However, Kumiko stopped it.

"Kumiko? What's up? Why did you stop?" Asuka said with her voice strong with disappointment.

"I…still want…to talk…about you…" Kumiko said in between breaths. The kiss really tired her because of how much energy she spent before laughing.

Asuka smiled. _'She always has to be so thoughtful. God, I love her.'_ She went back and took her seat at the table. "Well, let's talk then."

And so, the two girls talked about themselves. Interests, hobbies, likes, dislikes, preferences. It was very informative and helped the girls learn about possible date ideas.

"Wow, it's already so dark out." Asuka looked behind her and saw the night sky. What time is it?"

"9:39." Kumiko replied. "Yeah, talking just made the time pass by. It was fun though."

Asuka turned back to her girlfriend with a wide smile. "Yeah. It really was. Good idea, babe." She went over and kissed Kumiko on the cheek. "Let's do it again soon."

"Okay."

As they cleaned up the dishes, the phone rang. Kumiko was free so she went to pick it up.

"Hello? Mom?

"What?!

"You got a divorce?!"

* * *

Quick note: When we get to chapter 20, you might notice that the band camp was in the summer. I apologize to the purists of Hibike, which I consider myself a small amount. I love the anime, but I'm was trying to go off memory for when everything happened. Which...was completely off. Hopefully, it doesn't offput you from the story, because I do like what I wrote there.

I'll give myself a poor excuse: for me, Cananda has summer vacation. So, I kinda went off of that. I looked up when the seasons were for schools in Japan, but it was really confusing to me, just trying to map out the dates.

Another poor excuse: It's convenient for me, because I think this story is wrapping up soon, and the summer date is better for me when I write about events that happen in the summer.

I apologize if you don't like it, but I do hope you still read it. I really like how I did it, and I hope that is what is focused on more than the timeline.

Thanks for reading!


	18. Explaining Things

Review Responses:

Masane: Yeah, I completely forgot that they really only did talk about band and things like that, and I had to do a small story with that. With Kumiko's eating habit, I just looked it up on the Hibike wiki, and she doesn't have any eating dislikes (only insects). Happy that your prediction came true, because that was the best way I thought I could show it. And glad you liked the chapter!

* * *

The four women had to meet up on the weekend to talk about Akiko's divorce. So, for three days, Kumiko's mind was plagued with her thoughts about her mother and father's divorce.

' _What argument could have happened that would make them want to divorce? Was it mutual? Or did someone walk out on someone else? How is our family going to be now? Will we all be financially stable? Who's going to move out?'_

"Oumae-san." The teacher spoke firmly. "Are you okay? I've been calling you to read."

"S-Sorry, sensei."

…

"So, are you sure that you are okay?" Kumiko's homeroom teacher asked. Kumiko was asked to go to the teacher's office after class.

"Yes, sir. It's some personal issues that I don't think I can talk about yet." Kumiko bowed. "I apologize for not paying attention."

"It's fine, Oumae-san. Just come to me if you need to talk. I'll listen." He told her. "You are excused."

" _Hai!_ " Kumiko bowed before heading to the band room.

As she approached it, she saw Hazuki and Midori outside. "Kumiko-chan!" Hazuki said, running up to the brunette. "What happened? Did you get yelled at?"

Kumiko pushed her eager friend off of her, not wanting to feel Asuka's wrath for hugging someone else. "Nothing like that, guys. He just asked if everything was okay."

"Well, are you?" Midori asked. "You are always a person who paid attention in class. What's got you so distracted?"

"Like I told sensei, it's a personal problem that I can't talk about." Kumiko told her friends apologetically. "Sorry."

"It's okay. We understand, Kumiko-chan." Midori said, bringing a smile to Kumiko's lips.

"Thanks."

* * *

Saturday came, and the evening was fast approaching. The four of them said that they would meet for dinner at Asumi's house, where they'll talk there. Kumiko and Asuka were waiting for their mothers to pick them up, so they had time to think about what they could ask.

Well, more like what questions Kumiko could ask her mother.

"I can't believe it came to that." Kumiko said, catching Asuka's attention. "How did it get so bad?"

"You can ask her that, Kumiko." Asuka told her. "She has no right to hold anything from you. If you have a question, you ask it. And if she doesn't answer, my mom and I will make her." Asuka wrapped her arms around Kumiko, who relaxed into the hug. She kissed the top of Kumiko's head. "You'll get answers. Who knows, maybe it makes sense."

Kumiko nodded, embracing every word that Asuka said.

 _ **KNOCK!**_

"They're here. Let's be the best family we can be." Asuka took Kumiko's hand and headed to the door.

…

"Thanks for the food, Asumi," Kumiko said after the meal.

"Thanks, Kumiko," Asumi smiled at her.

"I assume you want the whole story." Akiko said to Kumiko.

"Of course I do," Kumiko said. "A divorce IS a big thing."

"I know. Just…settle down. When we're all here, I'll say everything that happened."

* * *

 _ **FLASHBACK**_

Asumi and Akiko were coming back to Akiko's house. They had a small shopping day after Asumi was finished with work.

However, they didn't know that Kentaro, Akiko's husband, came home first.

"Oh, hi dear." Akiko said.

"Where have you been?" The man said, sitting in a dining chair. There was an edge to his voice that confused Akiko.

"I just went out with Asumi for some shopping. I wasn't out too long."

"You didn't tell me. I didn't get a text or anything." Kentaro's voice was steadily rising.

"There's no reason to be angry. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you, but that's in the past."

"What if you disappeared, huh? Then I would be alone because we drove our kids away!"

"What?" Akiko didn't think she heard him right. She turned to Asumi. "Can you stay outside for a bit?" Asumi nodded, not wanting to anger her best friend. Akiko opened the door for Asumi, reminding her to stay there.

"WE drove our kids away? NONE OF IT WAS MY FAULT!"

"YOU NEVER STOPPED THEM FROM LEAVING!"

"BECAUSE I THOUGHT YOU WERE BETTER THAN THAT! YOU ONLY THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR VALUES AND DIDN'T THINK AT ALL ABOUT OUR CHILDREN! I LET THEM GO BECAUSE THEY WOULD BE AWAY FROM YOU! I HAD TO KEEP MY MEETING WITH KUMIKO A SECRET BECAUSE YOU MADE HER LEAVE!"

"I DID IT TO UPHOLD OUR FAMILY VALUES!"

"AND YOU DON'T VALUE OUR CHILDREN?! YOU MADE HER LEAVE BECAUSE SHE 'WASN'T NORMAL?' LISTEN TO YOURSELF!" Akiko started to head to the house exit.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

"I CAN'T BE WITH YOU ANYMORE, NOT WHEN YOU'RE LIKE THIS!"She opened the door, showing a scared Asumi. "WE ARE GETTING A DIVORCE!" And with those last words, she slammed the door of her previous home.

"Akiko…" Asumi rubbed her friend's arm. Akiko was sobbing, but she wasn't doing it for long.

"It-It's okay. This was for the best." Akiko assured her friend. "Can I stay with you from now on?"

' _What a silly question.'_ Asumi held Akiko's hand. "Of course you can."

 _ **FLASHBACK OVER**_

* * *

"So, I've just been here for the past few days. I've been in talks with the lawyers, and we'll be getting the divorce soon."

Akiko saw Kumiko getting teary-eyed, which she hated to see on her daughter. "I know, Kumiko. It's a lot to take in. I'm sorry it had to end like tha-"

"Thank you."

"Huh?" Akiko didn't believe what Kumiko said.

Kumiko quickly got out of her chair and nearly tackled her mother to the ground from her hug. "Thank you so much!" Kumiko buried her head into her mother's chest, staining the clothes with tears.

"You're okay with this? Kumiko, he is your father."

Kumiko shook her head. "Not anymore. Not only because of the divorce. When he kicked me out, he wasn't my father anymore. My family was you, me, Asuka, Asumi. And if I see her again, Mamiko.

"Mom, thank you for sticking up for me. I know you only meant the best for me and Mamiko, since you are always so supportive of us. You did something that I was too afraid to do. I love you, mom. So much."

Akiko started to tear up from Kumiko's speech. "I love you too, honey." She tightly hugged Kumiko, both of them crying tears of happiness. Asuka and Asumi were watching the heart-warming scene.

"I wish something like that could happen with us," Asumi said to her daughter.

Asuka laughed softly. "So do I, mom."

The Oumae pair started to calm down after about 5 minutes of crying.

"So, are you living here now?" Kumiko asked, mostly directed at Asumi than her mother.

"Yes, she is. We've already decided that she can stay here for as long as she likes. Since you two are living together, Asuka's room is unoccupied. So, she can stay there. As for expenses…"

Asumi's talking duty was taken over by Akiko. "…I'll see how much I get from the divorce. By then, I'll decide if I will get a job. Asumi said that she can make enough to support us two, so she said that I could just stay home and be a housewife of some sort."

"And you're okay with that?" Kumiko asked her mom. Asuka looked at her mom and asked the same question using her eyes.

"Yes, Kumiko. I'm grateful that Asumi and I met again. She's my best friend, and she's the best person I would want by my side at this time. I'm grateful for everything she's given me."

Asumi went up and hugged Akiko, who returned it. "I'm not going to leave you." Asumi looked at everyone. "We are a family, and we'll never leave each other."

Everyone had tears in their eyes. "Come here, you two." Asumi opened up the hug and Asuka and Kumiko ran in to hug them. They were the best family, and nothing could tear them apart.


	19. A Dinner Date

"Hey, Kumiko! Are you ready?" Asuka shouted from the living room. The two girls had another date night planned. This time, they were going to go to a new fancy restaurant that was recommended by Sora and Kaito. They were dressed up, with long dresses and tons of make-up.

"Almost! I'm just having some troubles with my hair!" Kumiko said from the washroom.

"Do you need me to help?"

"Umm…If you could?"

Asuka sighed. She stood up and started to walk towards the bathroom.

 _ **DING! KNOCK! KNOCK!**_

"Get the door, Asuka! I'm okay now!"

"Alright!" Asuka started to walk towards their door, but had some thoughts spinning in her head. _'It's almost 9 o'clock. Who would be coming here at this time? It can't be anyone we know, I think they would need help to get here.'_

As she opened the door, she was still confused about the person standing there. She was wearing a thin, brown coat and some jeans. She had a luggage bag behind her. She had brown hair, but it wasn't anyone Asuka had seen before.

"Hello?"

"Hi." The girl bowed. "I'm looking for Kumiko."

"Umm, alright." Asuka looked at the person before turning her body towards the bathroom. "Kumiko! They said they're looking for you!"

Kumiko stepped out, but was still fretting about her hair. "Does my hair look fine? I like the ponytail."

"I think it looks good," Asuka told her girlfriend.

"Me too."

Kumiko's head turned to the new voice, it sounding strangely familiar. _'It…It can't be…'_ Her eyes met the figure, and her eyes started to water.

"Hi sis."

"M-Mamiko?" The mascara was starting to smudge due to her tears, but Kumiko ignored it. She ran to her sister, who hugged her.

Asuka smiled at the heartwarming scene. "Hey, don't stand out there! Come in, please!" She guided the two sisters into the living room. They all took a seat on the three-person couch, as Kumiko and Mamiko were still embracing each other.

"W-What are you doing here?" Kumiko asked through clouded eyes and dry throat.

"Don't worry about that right now. I didn't know you were going out tonight!" Mamiko took a look at the couple sitting with her. "Did you make reservations?"

Asuka shook her head. "No, we're going to this new place. They weren't too busy when we looked there before."

"Good! Let's fix up your make-up and I'll drive you guys there."

"You don't have to, Mamiko. You just got her-" Kumiko was trying to stop her sister's generosity, but was stopped by said sister.

"Hey, I'm intruding. I came here on a whim, and you guys were going all out for a date. At least let me do this."

"Alright…" Kumiko guiltily accepted. "But…you know about me and Asuka?"

The older Oumae sister sighed. "Stop worrying about that and let's get you pampered!"

…

The drive to the restaurant was pleasant. The three girls talked about Asuka and Kumiko more than the older girl's life. The drive was only ten minutes, and the couple got out of the car. As Asuka said, the place wasn't too busy. There were only a few cars around and some couples were leaving the place, satisfied looks on their faces.

"Do you need anything, Mamiko?" Kumiko was panicking, knowing that her sister was here. "Do you want to eat with us?"

"Kumiko, stop being an idiot." The older girl pointed at Asuka. "Do you think your **girlfriend** would like it if I just interrupted your date? Relax, enjoy yourself! I'm just going to go around town, I saw some open shops. Call me when you girls are finished, okay?"

" _Hai!_ " Asuka said to her senior enthusiastically. "She's right, I would have hated it if she was having dinner with us on our date night. Shows how much you care about me," Asuka teased the brunette. She had a smirk on her face and feigned a hurt expression.

"I-I-I didn't…mean it like…that…" Kumiko knew that she was defeated in this war of wits. Her girlfriend got her cornered, and she could only go up by not being an idiot.

Mamiko laughed. "That's good, Asuka-chan. I like her," the sister told her younger sibling. "Go and have fun!" She waved at the two girls before she drove off.

The two girls waved back, but Kumiko slumped her shoulders. "Am I really that much of a terrible girlfriend?"

"Sometimes," Asuka said. She laughed when Kumiko stuck out her tongue. "But I love you all the same."

They entered the establishment. It was very fancy for a start-up restaurant. The place itself wasn't too large however, it just had some nice-looking tables and chairs. The servers were clad in a tuxedo, both men and women.

"Hello!" The server said energetically. "Any reservations?"

"No, we would like a table for two," Asuka said with a smile.

"That's okay!" She looked at her screen for a bit. "We have some seats available, close to the windows. Is that okay?"

Kumiko responded. "Yes."

"Alright!"

The lady walked them to the seats. Many seats were empty, but that is to be expected of a new place. If the service was anything to go off of, Asuka and Kumiko had a new place to eat at. You know, for occasions.

"Here are your menus. The waitress will be with you shortly."

The lady walked away, but the couple had smiles on their faces.

"She's really nice." Kumiko stated.

"I agree," Asuka replied. "Now, let's see this menu…" Asuka's eyes scanned the menu, and her eyes bulged.

"Is it really that much? I told you that we have to save for the trip!" Kumiko said to her shocked girlfriend. She took a look through the menu, but her eyes were just as wide when she looked at the prices. "This is really cheap! I thought that Sora-san said that it was a high-class place."

"It is a fancy looking place. I just thought that the prices would reflect that. I brought so much money with me just for this." Asuka dug her head into the menu, still astonished with how cheap everything was.

"You're making it sound like a bad thing," Kumiko laughed. She read through the menu and saw how delicious everything sounded.

"Umm, babe? You're drooling." Kumiko's head perked up from the menu to see the ravenette giggling. She felt her chin to feel her saliva actually on her, now getting embarrassed.

"S-Shut up." Kumiko wiped her mouth as the server came.

"Hello there! What would you like to drink? Wait, Oumae-senpai?"

"Huh?" The brunette was shaken out of her embarrassed trance from hearing her name. She turned to the voice. "Mai-san? You work here?"

The girl blushed. "Well, my parents kinda own the place. So, I have to help out somehow." She looked to the other girl sitting at Kumiko's table. "Tanaka-senpai!" She bowed.

"Hey, you're working." Asuka sighed at her flustered junior. "I would like to order."

"Hey." Kumiko slapped her girlfriend's hand. "Don't be rude. She's our server and a friend."

"A friend? I can only assume you're Kousaka-chan's, right?"

"Y-Yes!" Kumiko noticed that Mai was tensing up.

"Asuka, stop pestering her. She need to do her job, like you said."

Asuka saw the winning smile on Kumiko's smug face. She didn't like admitting defeat. Even if it was true.

"R-Right. Sorry, Mai-chan."

"It's okay!" She shook herself, calming her nerves. "Now, what would you like to drink?"

"I'll take a cola," the brunette told her friend.

"How about some whiskey?" Asuka wriggled her eyebrows.

"Umm, I'll need to see some ID," Mai asked, like the good server she is.

Asuka put on a pout. "Aww, aren't we friends? You can't sneak a drink in for me?"

"Mai-chan, don't listen to her. She'll take a root beer," Kumiko glared at her girlfriend.

"R-Right. I'll get those for you and get your order when I come back."

Mai bowed and walked away, leaving the two girls to themselves.

"Asuka, can you try not to be a bad influence on our bandmates?" Kumiko sighed. "You can't go and break laws."

"It was just a joke," Asuka smirked. "Can't you forgive me? Or…" The ravenette leaned over to Kumiko's ear. "You can punish me…" Asuka said seductively, leaving her girlfriend a blushing mess.

"I…but…sister…we can't…" She buried her face into the menu, trying to forget what Asuka said and to find something to eat. She saw Asuka smirking and licking her lips, trying to entice the girl.

It was working.

"Here are your drinks." Mai placed the cola and root beer in front of the two girls. "Just remember, it's bottomless drinks."

"Holy hell, is your family rich?" Asuka asked.

"I guess you could say that. They did try this out because they both love cooking. So, they wanted to share their love for food with people in Japan."

"I can see that." Kumiko looked through the menu again and saw how much of the food had many styles, ranging from Western, Italian, Chinese, and many more different cuisines.

"Do you have your orders?" Mai had her notepad ready.

"I'll take the chicken parmesan with a carbonara as the pasta," Asuka told the girl.

"Okay, Oumae-senpai?"

"Steak and eggs, please." Kumiko closed up her menu and handed it to Mai.

"Great! Anything else?" She saw the two girls shake their heads. "Alrighty then! I'll be back with your dishes!" The young girl bowed and left again.

"Well, she seems like a nice girl," Asuka told her girlfriend. The brunette nodded her head.

"Yeah, we hung out for a bit along with Reina." Kumiko said this and stared through the window.

' _Asuka, you have to stop thinking like this,'_ the ravenette thought to herself. _'Why do I have to be the jealous type?'_

Their food arrived, and they had a pleasant meal with delicious food.

"Say 'ahh,'" Asuka held out a piece of her chicken to Kumiko. At first, the younger girl was embarrassed, but she quickly ate it with delight.

The meal went like that for the entire time, with Kumiko and Asuka trading bites of food. Mai was a diligent server, always there to re-fill their drinks and ask how they were. They left a good tip for their junior bandmate.

Before they left, they said goodbye to Mai. They complimented her on her serving duty, the young girl having a blush from the praise.

"Hey, honey." A woman came out of the kitchen. "Were those some of your friends?"

"I-I guess, I just met them at band."

"Well, they seem like a nice couple. They're cute."

"Yeah, they are."

"You have a crush on anyone?"

Mai started to blush. "N-No…"

The woman laughed. "Sweetie, it's okay to have a crush."

"I know…stop embarrassing me, mom!"

"Aww, my little girl is in love!"

"Mom!" Mai whined

…

The girls were picked up by Mamiko and some new clothes.

They didn't talk much, since Kumiko was about to doze off from her food coma.

As they entered the house, Kumiko felt a jolt of energy course through her. "Right! Mamiko, I want to talk. Just us three."

"Alright," the Oumae sister laughed at her sibling's eagerness. The three of them took a seat. "So, what's first?"

"Why are you here? How do you even know where we live?"

"Well," Mamiko began. "Mom called me, I assume you know the reason why."

The young brunette nodded. "The divorce?"

"Yes. I wanted to go talk to her, and thank her. She was always so supportive of our dreams while dad always disapproved. I hated him for that. Not wanting me to follow my dreams."

"That's why he kicked you out…" Kumiko was reminded of the scene.

Mamiko nodded. "So, I got to Asuka's mother's house. Which was lovely." She turned your attention to Asuka. "Your mother is a great person. I didn't believe that she and mom were best friends."

"Yeah, we were all surprised by that." Asuka agreed.

"It's funny," Kumiko briefly interrupted. "What you're talking about sounds like what Asuka and I went through."

"I know that. Mom told me all about you guys," Mamiko continued. "It's pretty similar to my story. I had dreams and you had a relationship that was forbidden by dad. All the while, mom has always been there to support us. She told me that if I was to see you again, I would be part of this family." Mamiko smiled. "I would like that."

"Are you finished with school?"

"I…don't think I'll be finishing it. At least, not from where I was." Mamiko stood up and peered through the balcony window. "I missed being with you. And mom. I may have liked being on my own for a bit. But…I was missing this. Family."

"So, what are you going to do then?" Kumiko asked her sister. "Are you going to school or…"

A light laugh came from the oldest girl. "To be honest with you, I can do anything really. I had a pretty good job and made enough to go to university. I just don't know what I want to do yet if I do head to uni."

"Okay." Kumiko stood up and hugged her sister from behind, startling the other Oumae sister. "I'm happy that my sister is here though. I missed you."

Mamiko smiled. She turned around and returned the hug. "As did I."

"Umm, do you have a place to stay?" Asuka asked. "If not, we're okay with you staying here."

"Thanks." Mamiko went over and put a hand out. "It'll be just for this night, though. I'll be living with our moms at Asuka's house."

"That's good." Asuka shook the hand. "Now, let's sleep. I'm dead tired."

"Hey," Kumiko said. She walked up to Asuka and leaned over. "I still have to punish you." Asuka heard the seductive tone in Kumiko's voice, and saw the grin on her face.

Now, she was feeling a bit more alive.


	20. A Perfect Band Camp

**I am putting out two chapters today. There is an important message in the next chapter that is important to people that like this story. It may be long, but I do hope you read it. It's shows how my mindset is right now, and explains why it's been a while since I've updated this story.**

* * *

The band had their (now) annual band camp, and…it was basically the same as last year. They had a new piece and got assistance from Taki-sensei, Hashimoto-sensei, and Niiyama-sensei. Even Asuka was able to come, since Taki-sensei liked how she gelled with everyone in the band. Especially the bass section.

The band was finished for today, so the students had free time.

"Taki-sensei is really nice," Kumiko said.

"We all knew that last year," Natsuki responded. "What makes you say that now, of all times?"

"He let us choose who we sleep with, and now we have everyone here!" Kumiko said in all of her excitement.

And it was true. This year, Taki-sensei allowed everyone to choose their roommates. The rooms were large, so they could hold a lot of people in it. When choosing their mates, the couples were together. So, the room held: Kumiko, Asuka, Reina, Mai, Mizore, Nozomi, Yuuko, and Natsuki.

"I guess that's true." Natsuki considered what Kumiko said, and ended up agreeing.

"Well, I wasn't here the last time. So, everything is pretty new to me." Nozomi told the group. She felt her hand being gripped tighter by her girlfriend.

"I wish you were there." Mizore said in a low voice. Nozomi smiled at the cute statement.

"Thanks, Mizore." She rested her head on Mizore's shoulder. The oboist's face flushed red, which was caught by Yuuko.

"You two are really cute." The blonde teased the two girls. "But that is true. However, we already knew about you. So, you aren't 'new.'"

Natsuki looked over to Mai. "Yeah, we have one new girl in this group. How are you liking the band, Mai-chan?"

The youngest girl almost froze from hearing her name. "Umm…" Mai was trembling, not wanting to make a fool of herself in front of all of her seniors.

However, she felt a hand fall on her head. The hand started to pet her, which made Mai relax. She looked over to see Reina smiling back.

"Don't be afraid, Mai-chan. We're all friends here."

Everyone saw how…nice Reina was being. She usually isn't affectionate, besides being with Kumiko. Seeing her act this way around Mai…their suspicions were raised. They were raised further as they observed Mai, who was blatantly enjoying the head petting. She was around Reina a lot, at least from what Yuuko and Kumiko saw.

Maybe…something could happen?

"I'm enjoying band a lot! Taki-sensei is a bit hard on us, but I think it's helping my trumpet playing quite a bit. And everyone is really friendly." Mai was smiling, which was infectious as everyone else smiled at the positive words.

"That's great to hear." Asuka said. "Now, is anyone hungry?"

Kumiko pouted. "And you make fun of me for that."

The group laughed at the couple, but did agree with Asuka. They all went to the dining hall to have dinner.

…

"Really?"

"Yeah, we're going to Gunma." Kumiko told Reina and Mai. The eight girls were eating dinner and were just having small conversations.

"Wow, that sounds fun! So, is it just you and Asuka-senpai going?" Mai asked the brunette.

She shook her head. "It's a trip for this center we found. I'll give you the information about them later."

"When is the trip?" Reina asked.

"It's in two weeks, so we are still on vacation. I'm excited! All of us are going and we are going to have a ton of fun." Kumiko looked at the two girls. "Maybe you can come to the next trip we have. It'll be nice to have everyone there."

"Yeah, sounds nice." Reina said. What Kumiko didn't see was Mai and Reina blushing. Both of them were thinking about how nice it would be to go as a couple.

…

The girls finished up in the bath and were now settling down for bed. Although, they weren't really getting ready for bed.

"I'll just be in another room. Some of my friends want to talk," Mai told the room.

"Really? How convenient!" Kumiko stood up and went over to the girl. "Can Asuka and I walk with you to the room?"

"Sure!"

Asuka smiled at the two girls bonding, but then realized something. "Wait? I'm coming with you?"

The brunette nodded her head. "Yeah, I want to talk. Just the two of us."

The raven-haired girl was still skeptical, but she couldn't ignore her girlfriend's request. "Alright…"

The three girls left and started to walk to the room Mai had to go to. It was a quiet walk, but Kumiko wanted to know one thing.

"Hey, Mai-chan. Do you have a crush on Reina?"

The young girl started to blush furiously. "W-Why would you ask?"

"Aww, she does have a crush!" Asuka mewed. "You didn't deny it, Mai-chan!"

The teasing didn't help make the girl calm down. She looked over to Kumiko, but only saw a warm smile.

"It's nice that you have a crush on Reina. To be honest, after everything between us…she deserves a good person to fall for. And I think you are a great person for her."

Mai looked at the brunette confused. "What do you mean, Oumae-senpai?"

The brunette still had her warm smile, comforting the young girl. "I'm going to support you and your crush on Reina."

"Do you still…like her…?" Mai knew she was maybe pushing a boundary, especially with Asuka with them. However, she wanted to know.

Kumiko was caught off-guard from Mai's question, and Asuka looked at her. However, she quickly recovered and smiled. "No, I don't love Reina anymore." She went over and hugged Asuka's arm. "Because I have someone else I truly love."

The passion that Asuka heard in Kumiko's voice made her flustered and made her face flush red. She wasn't embarrassed easily, but with how sincere and loving Kumiko's words were…she couldn't help but get embarrassed. And also hate herself a bit for thinking about anything else.

They got to the desired room, with Mai saying good night to the two girls.

"Thanks, Oumae-senpai. For supporting me."

The brunette smiled at Mai. "No problem. I hope everything works out for you. And you can call us by our first names. We're all friends here."

"R-Right, Kumiko-senpai!"

They said good night and waved goodbye. Mai went into the room and Kumiko and Asuka kept walking.

"Asuka? What's wrong?" Kumiko asked her girlfriend.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, you were really silent when we were walking with Mai-chan. You are always so talkative, but you barely said anything." Kumiko turned her head to Asuka. "I just wanted to know if you're okay."

' _I can't tell her. It's going to make me hate myself more for being like this. Just Kumiko being close to someone that is just friends with Reina…why do I keep feeling this?'_

Asuka smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry to worry you."

Kumiko leaned onto Asuka's arm and kissed her cheek. "Good. And if it was about Mai's question about Reina…" She then planted a kiss on Asuka's lips, softly nibbling Asuka's bottom lip. "She's a friend, I love you more than that."

"R-Right." Asuka shook her head. "Where are we going anyways?" Asuka asked, trying to get away from that previous conversation.

"Outside, to look at the sky and the stars."

Asuka giggled. "Couldn't we have done that in the room?"

She saw the blush form on Kumiko's face form. "I-It's more personal when it's us alone!"

Asuka laughed at Kumiko being so flustered, but leaned her head on Kumiko's. "Yeah, you're right."

They got outside and sat on the benches side by side. They looked up and saw the twinkling stars.

"The sky looks so pretty…" Kumiko said in awe.

"Yeah…" Asuka agreed. "N-Not as pretty as you," Asuka stuttered out.

Kumiko laughed. "You're such a nerd." The brunette leaned her head on Asuka's shoulder. "I have something for you. Can you close your eyes?"

"Okay."

As she closed her eyes, Asuka felt the warmth of Kumiko leave her shoulder. She longed for the touch of her girlfriend, but waited in anticipation for her present.

Kumiko pulled out her euphonium from under the bench very carefully. She silently opened the case and pulled out the instrument. She was ready to give her girlfriend a wonderful present.

Asuka heard a deep breath from beside her and wondered what Kumiko was doing. The first note was played, and Asuka was instantly hooked.

' _It's so familiar.'_ The song that Kumiko played felt so relaxing. As the song went on, the notes connected in Asuka's mind. The melodies were resonating through Asuka's ears and she was starting to tear up.

' _It's one of the songs I gave her in the book. She learned how to play it…for me?'_ The song was finishing up, and Asuka's tears would not stop flowing.

The final note was played, and Asuka opened her eyes. She looked to her side and saw Kumiko sigh.

' _Was she always so beautiful?'_

"Did you like it, Asuka?" Kumiko asked with a smile on her face. "I practiced this so much, just hoping that I could see you again. When we became a couple, I always wanted to play this for you. I just never knew when the right time was. I loved all the pieces in your father's book, but this one just…related with me. It was melancholic, but it transformed into such a beautiful, happy song. It's kinda like our relationship; started off a bit rocky, but it transformed into a loving relationship- Oof!"

Asuka tackled Kumiko when the euphonium was placed back into the case. "A-Asuka?"

"I loved it. Everything. It was perfect." Asuka placed her hands on her girlfriend's shoulders. "I can't believe that we've been together for 5 months already. It seemed to just fly by."

"And they were the best days of my life." Kumiko said. Asuka blushed with the praise.

"Same here. Even when you were dealing with Reina?"

Kumiko softly laughed. "Well, you got me there. But, it wasn't unbearable."

"Why not?"

"Because you were always by my side."

The sudden statement caused a harsh blush to form on Asuka's face. "You mean that?"

"Yes. I don't want to mess this up, and I don't think we ever will. I love you, Asuka."

So sincere. So honest. Kumiko was the best girl in the world, and she was Asuka's.

"I don't want to lose you either. I love you too much. You are so…perfect." Asuka buried her head in her girlfriend's neck.

Kumiko kissed the top of Asuka's head and smiled. "You are too."

"You looked really hot when you finished playing the song."

That statement made Kumiko blush furiously.

…

Kumiko was awake as the other girls were sleeping. She was lying down, thinking about how nice it was to play the song for Asuka. Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. No one woke up to look at the entrance, but Kumiko shifted her body to see Mai in the doorway. She had her sleepwear on and was starting to walk to her futon, which was next to Reina.

Kumiko noticed Mai kneel down beside Reina. The young girl was staring at Reina's face, which Kumiko was still observing. Mai uttered some words quietly and kissed Reina's cheek.

' _M-Mai-chan?!'_

The girl looked around, checking if anyone was awake. Kumiko was surprised that Mai didn't see her awake, since she saw the young girl kiss her friend. Mai crawled into her bed as Kumiko saw a wide smile on the young girl's face.

' _She really likes Reina, huh?'_

' _I guess I have some words to say to her.'_

* * *

The second day of practice was finished, and it was the same thing again. With the three teachers guiding the students and the band improving for the prefectural competition.

With the day finishing up, the eight girls were taking their baths together. Mai was relaxing in the bath, but was disrupted by Kumiko going over to her.

"Hello, Mai-chan." The brunette greeted the young girl.

"Oh! Hello Kumiko-senpai."

"Let's cut to the chase. I saw what you did yesterday," Kumiko confessed. She was surprised with how confused Mai looked.

"I don't know what you mean? We were just practicing and hanging out, right?"

The brunette smirked. "Yeah, we did do that. But, I was talking about at night. Concerning Reina."

Kumiko got the reaction she wanted; shock and terror.

"Y-y-y-y-y-you saw that?!" Mai started to panic.

"Hey! Calm down!" Kumiko did what she could to calm the junior down; patting her back, petting her head. "Sorry, I didn't know you would react like that." Kumiko never thought of herself as a joker, but she could only assume that she wanted to tease the young girl like she was a sister.

"C-Could you not say…anything to anyone? I just…saw her there and…I-I wanted to look at her. I-I guess it was my instinct to do it…I'm so embarrassed!"

"It's okay, Mai. At least you didn't do anything past that. Then I would have intervened." Kumiko sat beside the flustered trumpeter. "And like I said, I do want you and Reina to be together. I think you two would be cute as a couple."

"T-Thank you, Kumiko-senpai."

"It's okay. Just…don't be me."

"Huh?" Mai was confused.

"Remember what Reina told you? It was a whole year before I told Reina my past feelings for her, and it didn't end well. Tell her when it's the right time, when you are sure that you like, or even love Reina. Okay?"

Mai nodded. "Okay!"

"And…don't assault Reina again, or else I'll have to do something." Kumiko giggled.

The positivity quickly turned to worry. "W-What?! R-Right! S-Sorry, Kumiko-senpai."

The brunette laughed as she patted Mai's head. "It's alright."

* * *

The final day of band camp was finished, at least the practicing portion. They were having their last dinner in the cafeteria.

Mai was talking with Kumiko, Asuka, and Natsuki. Yuuko was going over to Reina.

"Hello, Yuuko-senpai." Reina slightly bowed at her blonde senior.

"Hello, Reina-chan. Can I take a seat?" The raven-haired girl nodded. "Thanks."

"You don't want to eat with Natsuki-senpai? I'm okay with eating alone."

Yuuko sighed. "Reina-chan, I wouldn't have asked to sit beside you if I was going to eat with her. And besides, why are you sitting alone?"

Yuuko saw the blush on Reina's face. "I like sitting with my friends, but it's nice to have some alone time."

"Fair point." Yuuko took a sip of her soup. "Is there a reason you're blushing?"

The blonde smirked when Reina tried to cover up the obvious blush. "N-No reason."

Again, Yuuko sighed. "You can tell me anything. I'll help you as much as I can."

"I-It's nothing."

Yuuko glared at Reina, very unamused. "I don't want you to crumble right now, not when the prefectural is so close. You just have to say what's wrong, and I'll help you."

Reina knew that she wasn't going to win this battle. She sighed, signifying Yuuko's victory. "Alright. It's…about Mai-chan."

Hearing this delighted Yuuko's ears. "Really? What about her?"

"I…uh…" Reina's eyes trailed over to the young girl. Mai also looked at her at the same time. They both blushed, but they waved at each other and turned back to their conversations.

"You have a…crush on her?"

Yuuko laughed at her blushing friend, who was nodding her head.

"I'm surprised that you got over Kumiko-chan so fast."

Reina nodded. "To be honest, so am I." Reina started to poke at her food. "Everything with Kumiko really messed up everything for me. I thought that I would lose my best friend because I denied her love or started to love her. Once we made up, I knew that I still loved her. And I thought that it would be a long time before I dealt with anything related to love. I wasn't able to be with Taki-sensei or Kumiko, and I really wanted to give up on it."

Yuuko interrupted her. "But then, Mai-chan came into your life?" Another nod from the black-haired girl. "It's funny, it kinda sounds like what happened with Kumiko."

Reina softly laughed. "I guess it is."

"How did you start crushing on Mai-chan?"

Reina started to blush. "I'm…I'm not sure. When I first met her, I was still crushing over Kumiko. She caught me staring at her." Reina glared when she heard a small laugh from Yuuko.

"S-Sorry, Reina-chan."

The black-haired girl sighed. "Anyways, after me and Kumiko made up, I told her about it. Mai-chan seemed so nice and innocent, and I felt like I could trust her. And from that point, we started to hang out more. During practice, she was always asking me for help. And we sometimes went out together after practice. She's really cute, and she's open to doing a lot of things. I text her when I'm bored, and she's always ready to talk. And her trumpet playing has improved a lot, and I'm proud of her-"

"Okay, you are definitely crushing on Mai-chan." Reina realized that she was rambling about Mai and started to blush. "Why don't you tell her?"

"I'm…scared that she won't return my feelings. And I'm scared that everything that happened with Kumiko…will happen with Mai-chan."

"I think you are overthinking this. Have you seen Mai when she's around you?" Yuuko asked. Reina shook her head, earning a sigh from the blonde. "I think she's in love with you."

"N-No!" Reina quietly exclaimed. "That sounds crazy."

"This is sounding a lot like what happened with you and Kumiko-chan." Yuuko took a hold of one of Reina's hands. "Promise me that you'll tell her soon. I want to see you be happy, and I think Mai-chan is the reason you will be."

"You think so?" Reina's voice was so innocent, and Yuuko couldn't help but hug her.

"Yes, Reina." They released the hug, both girls having tears in their eyes.

"Okay. Thanks, Yuuko-senpai." The ravenette smiled at the blonde, who returned it.

…

"Hey, Yuuko-senpai," Kumiko called out to the blonde.

"Kumiko-chan? What's up?"

"What were you talking about with Reina?" Kumiko asked.

"At dinner? Not much." Yuuko replied.

"I don't know…I saw Reina blushing. It must have been pretty embarrassing."

Yuuko was getting a bit flustered and annoyed. "You're sounding like Natsuki right now. Can you not be so nosy?"

Kumiko smirked. "Sorry."

"I could ask you the same thing. Mai was looking pretty embarrassed when you talked to her before."

Now Kumiko was the flustered one. _"Shit, she saw that?"_

"Yes, I did. What were **you** talking about?"

' _Damn it, me! Stop saying your thoughts aloud.'_ Kumiko felt the blood rush to her face. "N-Nothing…"

The two girls both glared at their eyes. They had a feeling about what was said, but were concerned about angering their friends.

But, they decided to ignore that.

They started to whisper to each other, with Kumiko initiating the conversation.

"So, does Reina have a crush?"

"Yeah, what about Mai-chan?"

"Confirmed. It was obvious, wasn't it?"

"Completely. You want to see them together, right?"

"Absolutely. They're cute together."

The two girls were smiling. "I told Reina this, but I was surprised that she got over you so quick."

Kumiko nodded. "Same here. After the apologies, I thought that I really fucked up Reina's love life. It wasn't the best thing in the world, for both of us."

The blonde was nodding in agreement. "I guess it good for her, right? I've seen Reina-chan have her serious expression, but I've barely seen Reina's happy emotion. I sometimes see it when you two are together, but that's not as often now as it was last year."

"Yeah, that sounds right. Kinda makes me sound like an asshole, huh?"

"N-No! I didn't mean it like that!" Yuuko was waving her hands around, not meaning to insult the brunette. "You two have done well after the whole 'friends in love' thing. Trust me, I'm surprised that you two made up so quick. But, it makes sense. You have Asuka-senpai with you, and it's always important to be with your partner. I think Reina-chan would want that as well."

"I think so too. And I know that Mai-chan is head over heels for Reina. I want to see her be happy too. Both of them."

"Yeah, I want them to as well. I told Reina to tell Mai soon. When I told her that Mai liked her as well, she totally downplayed it."

"Heh, sounds like typical Reina." Kumiko chuckled. "I told Mai the same thing. I don't want them to regret not saying anything…like I did…"

"Hey," Yuuko nudged Kumiko's shoulder, "You still hung up on that?"

"Not really. I'm not in love with her anymore; I have Asuka, and I don't want my relationship with her to ever end. I'm just thinking about how I almost screwed everything up. I almost lost one of my best friends because I couldn't say anything."

"Don't be like that. You made up, and it just shows how close you two are if you got past all of that." Yuuko told her.

"Right. I always forget that."

"If you want to stop dwelling about yourself," Yuuko said and laughed when Kumiko stuck her tongue at her, "What should we do about Reina-chan and Mai-chan? I want them to be together, but I think they are just a bit too shy to actually say anything."

Kumiko put a finger to her chin, but quickly thought of something.

"I have a small idea, and a big idea. And I think it might work."


	21. Plan Get Them Together

Band camp was finished, and everyone came home safely.

The band came home on Tuesday, so the Gunma trip was five days away. For most of it, the six girls who were going to Gunma prepared their belongings. Key word was five, as now there was only the Saturday left before then.

Yuuko:  
 _When are you going to do your plan?  
We're leaving them soon._

Kumiko checked her phone to see this message from the blonde trumpet player.

Kumiko:  
 _Today. We're going to have dinner.  
Bring money and Natsuki-chan.  
And Nozomi-senpai and Mizore-senpai, if you want.  
I'll get Reina and Asuka, and we'll have a dinner party._

Yuuko:  
 _Sure!  
Just text me when and where._

Kumiko texted the details to Yuuko. She walked out to the living room and over to Asuka, who was staring at the TV.

"Asuka, we're going on a dinner date!"

"Date?!" The girl turned her head swiftly, with a glimmer in her eye.

Kumiko was afraid to shut that down, but she had to. "N-Not t-together…alone. With our friends."

"Oh." Asuka's attention slightly waivered, but she soon recovered. "That's fine! It was nice to eat with them at band camp. So, why not?! And besides, at least we're eating out and not eating your cooking." Asuka smirked.

"Hey!" Kumiko responded, which made Asuka's smirk widen. "My cooking isn't that bad! And yours isn't that great either!" Kumiko smiled in victory when she saw Asuka stick her tongue at her. "And it's not just to eat out. I'm trying to get Mai and Reina together."

"Really?" Asuka hummed. "You planned this?"

"Well, yes. I want to see them happy, especially Reina. She deserves it with what I put her through."

"She did that you as well!" Asuka said, a bit too loud and harsh. Just hearing Kumiko place the blame on herself made her tense. But…she couldn't help the feeling of jealousy loom over her.

"R-Right, sorry. I have to remember that we're both to blame." Asuka nodded at Kumiko's response. "Anyways, I have to invite Reina. And I got Yuuko to get the others."

"What about Mai-chan?"

Kumiko smirked. "Where do you think we're eating?"

…

The seven girls met up at the Hirai Restaurant.

"So, how expensive is this restaurant?" Natsuki asked.

"It's pretty good prices for delicious food." Asuka told them. "We had a dinner date here before, Sora-san told us about it."

"That damn cousin, couldn't even tell me about this place…" Natsuki grumbled. Yuuko grabbed one of Natsuki's hands.

"Hey, we can go here another time. We'll have our own date night, okay?" Yuuko said, planting a kiss on Natsuki's cheek. That cause a small blush to grow on Natuski's face.

The girls giggled as they entered the restaurant, but Yuuko went over to Kumiko. "Why did we come here? How is this going to help them?"

Kumiko giggled. "Did you see what the name of this restaurant? You'll see what I mean."

"Hello! A big group, I see. For how many?" The server asked.

"For seven, if that's okay." Kumiko said. "I think I made a reservation under 'Oumae.'"

The server scanned the list. "Ahh, yes. Good, right this way."

"Is it possible to get Mai-chan to be our server?" Kumiko whispered to the server.

"That should be fine!" The bubbly person said as she led the girls to the large table. "Now, here are your menus. Please take your time as your waitress comes." The server bowed, but not without getting a wink directed at Kumiko.

"Why…Why did she wink at you, Kumiko?" Asuka stared at her girlfriend, clearly not amused by the 'flirting.'

"N-No, Asuka!" Kumiko quickly made her way to defend herself. She leaned over and whispered in Asuka's ear, "I need her to get us Mai-chan for our waitress."

Asuka looked at Kumiko's eyes, which burned with passion and kindness. _'She really wants them together. To be honest, so do I.'_

"Alright, I forgive you." Asuka winked and had a sly grin, somewhat seductive.

"What are you guys planning?" Nozomi asked. She was talking to the other girls, but saw the whispering between the couple.

"Nothing!" Asuka said in a sing-songy manner.

The girls were positioned so it was Nozomi and Mizore, Natsuki and Yuuko, Kumiko and Asuka, and then Reina.

The waitress came, and as requested, it was Mai.

"Hello, there. Welcome..." The young server started to get nervous. "W-Why are you here…everyone?"

"Well, Kumiko and Asuka have been here before. So, we're having a dinner date with everyone." Yuuko said. Now she understood what Kumiko meant. "I was wondering why Kumiko didn't invite you, but I see why. I didn't know you worked here."

"Heh," Mai scratched the back of her head. "Well, my parents own this restaurant."

"Ahh, so that's why the name sounded so familiar." Natsuki said in realization.

"Yes." Mai accidentally turned her attention to her crush, who locked eyes with her. "H-Hello, R-Reina-senpai."

"Hi, M-Mai-chan."

The two of them stuttered out their nervous greetings.

"You l-look nice…in your u-uniform…" Reina stuttered out her compliment. Blood rushed to both of their faces, causing a strong blush.

"T-Thank you." Mai responded. She (somewhat) quickly perked up and started doing her duties. "I-Is there anything you would want to drink?"

The whole table got different types of sodas. "Please remember, it is bottomless drinks." The table started to stir.

"Wow, bottomless?" Nozomi said. "That's pretty sweet!"

Mai smiled. "I'll get your drinks and your orders when I come back." Mai bowed and left for the drinks.

"Wow, Reina-chan!" Asuka rested her chin on her hands. "I didn't think you were such a bold girl."

Said girl furiously blushed and buried her face into the menu.

"Asuka, stop embarrassing her." Kumiko lightly slapped Asuka's arm, who sold it dramatically.

Yuuko nudged Kumiko to get her attention. "It's so obvious that they like each other. Why do they act like that?" The blonde whispered.

"You're one to talk. You acted like that for longer than she has." Kumiko stated, a smug smirk on her face.

"S-Shut up!" Yuuko did the same as Reina and buried her face in the menu.

…

"Holy crap, that was good." Natsuki said. She was leaning back and had a content look on her face. She may be feeling that since Yuuko was leaning on her as well.

"Well, I'm glad." Kumiko said. "It's cheap and tasty, who could ask for more?"

The girls laughed when they saw Mai coming to their table with a man and a woman, who was holding a cake.

"Mai-chan?" Mizore said.

"So these are your friends?" The man said. "They seem like a nice bunch of gals."

"Dad! You sound so embarrassing!" Mai pouted.

"Now, now. Your father is being nice." Mai's mother said. She bowed to the table of girls. "Thank you for taking care of our daughter for this time. She's really enjoyed band, and she talks about you all a lot."

"Mom!" Mai whined.

The parents giggled. "Sorry, Mai. Anyways, we have this cake for you. It's a way of saying thanks." Mai's mother placed the cake on the table and her father started to cut it. As they handed it out, Mai was noticing something.

"Umm, mom? Why are all the slices…smaller than normal?"

The woman grinned. "No reason."

As the man handed out the last piece of cake, it was significantly larger than the rest. He gave the slice to Reina. "Thank you especially for taking care of Mai." Mai's father had a wide smile, as did her mother.

' _Why do they have to be like that?!'_

"Please enjoy!" The three of them left the table, leaving the girls to themselves.

"Reina-chan's cake is bigger than ours." Mizore stated.

Asuka grinned. "It must be the love from Mai-chan!"

The black-haired girl blushed furiously as she ate her cake.

Kumiko sighed. "You are never going to stop, are you?"

"Nope!"

…

The girls were heading out, but Yuuko pulled Kumiko aside for a bit.

"Just don't take too long! I want to have my Kumiko beside me!" Asuka told the two girls.

"And you better not do anything wrong. I won't forgive either of you," Natsuki said coldly.

"Don't worry, Natsuki. There's just something we have to talk about." Yuuko assured her girlfriend.

The two girls went over to the side, so that they were in full view of their group of friends, but out of earshot.

"So, what did you need to talk about?" Kumiko asked.

"This plan of yours? Did it even work?" Yuuko asked, her tone a bit irritated. "This dinner didn't do anything!"

"Now, now. I planned for this. I got a bit more than I asked for, if I'm honest." Kumiko waved her arms around. "I wanted to get confirmation that they did like each other, and I got that easily. I didn't expect Reina to compliment Mai, but now everyone knows for sure that Reina and Mai like each other."

"I…I guess that makes some sense." Yuuko looked at her junior, however she was still unsure how everything would work out. "Wait, you had a small plan and a big plan…was this the small one?"

Kumiko nodded. "Yup. The big plan is going to be when we have our vacation. We'll give those two a summer vacation that they'll love."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Yuuko asked, still confused on Kumiko's plan.

"Well, we're going to need to convince them to do something."

* * *

Kumiko:  
 _Hey, Mai-chan_

Mai:  
 _Kumiko-senpai?  
Hi!  
What's up?_

Kumiko:  
 _I have an idea.  
Over the vacation, go to Reina for help with summer homework  
And tell her your feelings_

Mai:  
 _WHAT?  
That sounds crazy!_

Kumiko:  
 _Mai, everyone knows that you both like each other  
I think you two are the only ones that don't know  
Or more like, don't accept it_

Mai:  
 _Really?_

Kumiko:  
 _Yes, really  
Just trust me, it's going to be good to say  
You should put your feelings out there  
It's not good to bottle it up_

Mai:  
 _I know  
You told me that  
I guess it might be best_

Kumiko:  
 _I don't want to pressure you  
It is what you want to do_

Mai:  
 _It's okay  
I don't think it's a bad idea  
I want to be with Reina-senpai  
She's amazing_

Kumiko:  
 _I know  
She loves you as well, and I want to see my friends happy_

Mai:  
 _Thank you, Kumiko-senpai.  
I'm going to tell her_

Kumiko:  
 _Good luck  
But you won't need it  
I know she'll say yes_

Mai:  
 _Thanks._

Kumiko smiled at Mai's last text. She placed her phone on the side table and snuggled into her bed. Asuka quickly crawled in with her and wrapped her arms around Kumiko's waist.

"Night, Kumiko!" Asuka said, and then kissed Kumiko's neck.

"Good night, Asuka." Kumiko brought her hands to Asuka's and closed her eyes. _'You two will be happy. I know it.'_

* * *

Yuuko:  
 _Hey, Reina-chan  
Can we talk?_

Reina:  
 _Sure.  
What do you want to talk about?_

Yuuko:  
 _It's about Mai-chan_

Yuuko was a bit scared. It was taking a while for Reina to respond. _'Damn it, Kumiko. This idea is stupid.'_

She got two texts from Reina and Kumiko. Since she was dealing with Reina, she decided that Kumiko could wait.

Reina:  
 _What about her?_

Yuuko:  
 _I know that it might be a bit uncomfortable…  
But I think you should tell her your feelings._

Again, it was taking a long time for Reina to respond, so she looked to Kumiko's text.

Kumiko:  
 _Mai said yes  
She's going to tell her_

The blonde laughed. _'You sure are crazy, Kumiko.'_

Reina:  
 _I don't think I can.  
What id she doesn't say yes?_

Yuuko:  
 _Reina, you both made it pretty obvious that you like each other.  
It was so obvious when we were at the restaurant._

Reina:  
 _Really?_

Yuuko:  
 _You complimented her very loudly.  
We all heard it.  
Don't be scared Reina-chan.  
She'll say yes.  
I know it._

Reina:  
 _…  
I'm scared to tell her.  
What if what happens is like what happened with Kumiko?_

Yuuko:  
 _Can you trust me?  
She will not say no.  
I'm sure of it._

Yuuko was patiently waiting for Reina's response.

Reina:  
 _Fine, I'll trust you.  
But I don't know why you are so certain, I'll trust you._

Yuuko:  
 _It's a hunch._

Reina:  
 _Well, I don't trust it  
But I guess I need to tell her_

Yuuko:  
 _Remember what happened with Kumiko?  
She almost lost you as a friend because she didn't tell you her feelings.  
That could happen again._

Reina:  
 _Yeah, I remember.  
Maybe you're right._

Yuuko:  
 _Have some confidence.  
She'll accept your feelings, I know it._

Reina:  
 _Alright.  
I'll tell her.  
Have fun on your trip._

Yuuko:  
 _Thanks.  
And you two will be happy.  
I know it._

Yuuko closed her eyes and started to drift off to sleep. _'Reina, you'll be happy. And you'll make Mai-chan the happiest girl in the world.'_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **It's been a while, huh? I apologize for the infrequent chapters for this story. I mean, it's been about two months since the last update. I feel bad about it since I was planning to finish this story over the summer. However, it came down to two things:**

 **1\. Time - I am a person that procrastinates. A lot. I had the idea in my mind about how I wanted to finish this story and I just never got around to doing it. And now that I have school to worry about, I don't think I can get that much chances. School doesn't explain why I haven't uploaded for so long. I've had these two chapters lined up for those two months and I just never released them. I have a much bigger reason as to why I haven't put too much love into this story as of late.**

 **2\. Dedication/Burnout - Don't get me wrong. I love Hibike, it's one of my favourite animes I've watched in the time it took me to finish it. And I loved writing this story. I feel that I wrote a good amount of my best work here and it had the starts for my other stories (smut, specifically). However, I think the reviews were right. Maybe I was churning out these chapters too quickly. I haven't really found a spark that makes me want to dedicate my time into writing for this story.  
**

 **Hell, I have tons of other stories. However, it's for one of my favourite games/animes/music. I've been on the Love Live train for quite a while, and I've have a lot of fun writing one-shots and new fleshed out stories. It's the series I have a lot of investment in, and I can't see myself straying away from that. I'm writing a fic right now for Love Live (which is why I can't blame school for not writing/updating this story. My free time is spent playing games or writing fics for Love Live when I have inspiration).**

 **I feel bad about all the people that like this story and feel that they aren't getting enough out of me. But, I think that this story has to be put on hiatus.**

 **It won't be permanent, but it will take a while for me to write for this story again. I have the ending planned out in my head and I think it's something that you would enjoy. However, it's not a fandom that I am that invested in. Thus, I will have to delay the ending of this story.**

 **If you decide to stick around and wait until this story finishes, I would be surprised but happy. People actually like my story that they won't leave it because I'm putting it on hiatus. That sounds amazing!**

 **But, if you do decide to leave, I'll understand. If anything, if you like what I write here, I would be happy if you looked at my other stories even if you aren't a Love Live fan. This story only improved my writing skills (I think).**

 **I apologize if this disappoints anyone (well, I think it would be everyone). But, I want to find inspiration to finish this story. Who knows, the Hibike movies are coming out. Maybe I'll get some from there.**

 **Thanks for Reading!**


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